Little Nightmare of Yours
by Anonymonimus
Summary: It's the 100th anniversary of the Hunger Games and Sam's had the misfortune of being reaped. Due to the special rule in celebration of the grand event, Dean - like many other siblings of the selected tributes - will be accompanying his brother into the fire of the arena. How will the brothers expect to survive physically and mentally when everything is put to the test?
1. Reaping

**I've been in a Hunger Games-like mood lately and rather than simply watch the movies or read the books, I've decided to write Supernatural fanfictions portraying what I think would happen if the Winchester boys - and their friends and family - were ever to be involved in such an apocalyptic world.**

**So anyways, I give you...THIS!**

**ENJOY!**

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It was the hundred year anniversary of the Hunger Games and Sam Winchester's last year for eligibility. Seeing as both his father and older brother forbade him of ever adding his name more than required in exchange for food, odds were that he wouldn't be chosen again. The only one in their family who had ever really been at risk of falling into the Games was Dean. By the time he had reached his eighteen years, his name had been entered in the reaping over seventy times but he had been lucky. Either way, Sam believed that if anyone could have won the Games in their district, it would have been Dean.

After their mother had passed away, there was no one keeping their father, John, from training them to fight with virtually anything they found. A twig was a deadly weapon in their hands. And though the training sessions had robbed both boys of their childhood, neither of them blamed John. He had only done what he thought was best for his sons and, in the end, there wasn't much of a childhood to have had in their state of extreme poverty.

Dean had particularly excelled in learning how to fight. His movements were swift and precise, putting to use only the necessary amount of energy to deliver a lethal blow. John had once joked about him being something akin to a Picasso with a razor. As for Sam, his skills resided in his intellect. In short, he was a strategist and knew how to use the environment to his advantage. He could read any and all of John's actions before he could make them thus enabling himself to modify his current stance and/or position as to effectively block or counter what was coming his way.

Nonetheless, regardless of their vigorous training, John had forbade both Sam and Dean to ever volunteer during the Reaping. "Whatever happens, happens." He told them. And so, on more than one occasion, the boys watched their friends march towards their death and were unable to save them. John also forbade either of his boys to add their names in exchange for essential goods, "We'll make do with what we have. Just let me worry about the technicalities of our condition." But, of course, Dean couldn't sit by forever and do nothing.

When it was first learned that Dean had added his name, he had provoked the worst of John's wrath. Sam had been sent off to bed before John had exploded but he had remained hidden, listening to what his father had to say to his brother. John had spent a good portion of the night yelling at him for how stupidly he had acted and breaking most of the furniture in their sloppy excuse of a home. However, by the end of his violent rant, he crumbled to his knees and sobbed.

"What am I going to do if they Reap you?" John had cried.

"Don't worry dad," and it had only been at that point that Sam realized Dean had also started crying, "I'll be okay if that ever happens."

Since then, John had modified his second and final rule so as Sam was the only one unable to sacrifice himself for the sake of the family. John nevertheless frowned upon Dean whenever he brought back extra rations but he never spoke against it. He knew all too well that his words wouldn't have an effect on his son.

However, as it was, Sam Winchester was now seventeen years old and getting ready for his last Reaping. There was a bit of a bounce in Dean's every step as they quickly gathered their clothes and cleaned himself. He was fairly confident that Sam wouldn't be chosen yet again whereas John was a bit more pessimistic and grim, readying himself for anything. This was the hundred year anniversary after all, and anything could happen.

Once they were ready to go, John stopped Sam before he could cross the door and embraced him. The contact was a bit strange and discomforting as John was never one to show much affection, especially now that his sons were adults. Nonetheless, Sam remembered the current moment as something he had also done to Dean on the eve of his last Reaping and thought of it merely as good luck. In the end, his name had only entered the poll seven times, the chances he would be chosen were insanely slim.

Dean patted Sam on the back once John released him and then they were on their way. They walked quietly to the designated area as to witness the Reaping ceremony and wave farewell to the current year's Hunger Games victims. Soon they joined the wave of desolated district members on the very same journey and lost themselves within the group. Sam found himself alone for most part of the walk until he found a few of his friends and stood by them when they were lined in place.

Sam peered over the many heads surrounding him, searching in the far back for his father and brother, smiling upon seeing them standing together. He wanted to wave, seeing as Dean was searching for him, but the microphone screeched, signaling the arrival of their district's escort. The man standing tall and proud on the stage bore a devious smile. His name was Azazel and it was no secret that he enjoyed the pain the Reaping and the Games brought upon the districts of Panem.

He cleared his throats just as the cameras recording the event projected his image on the two large screens bordering each side of the stage as to permit the people standing in the back to see. His yellow eyes flickered with joy and excitement as he raised his arms and began his speech:

"Ladies and gentle of district 7, you are now present at the Reaping ceremony of the hundredth Hunger Games! Before we begin selecting this year's tributes, here is obligatory national presentation of the tournament."

Azazel's face left the large screens and was instead replaced with the two minute long mandatory explanation of the Hunger Games' purpose. Sam rolled his eyes at the entire presentation, the Capitol desperately tried to make something barbaric seem justified but failed miserably. The video, really, only inspired dread and hate. However, it was soon over and Azazel was back on the screens, eagerly presenting the new, special twist on the Games in order to celebrate its hundredth year anniversary.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way," he said as two ceremony volunteers pushed the globes containing the names of all eligible boys and girls of the district on stage, "Time to get at the fun part! Now here, in Panem, we seek to make the Hunger Games a family event. In the end, its sole existence is to protect our loved ones. And so, in celebration of a century of Hunger Games, all chosen contestants will bring their sibling into the arena with them! There will thus be two victors this year provided both siblings do make it out alive."

The declaration rattled Sam for a bit. He was afraid of being selected and forcing Dean to come into the Games with him but then shrugged it away. Dean was no longer eligible for participation and so another person would have to be chosen in their stead of they were to be the unlucky victims. Sam also reassured himself that the countless other participants had probably entered their name more than he had and so would most likely not be chosen anyway. He took in a deep breath and stared intently at Azazel as he made his way to the globe containing the name of female contestants.

Azazel's hand dove deep into the bowl, mixing the names around before snatching one and pulling it out. He opened it and read the name, pausing with a wicked smile on his face as he looked at each of the girls. Most of them were on the verge of tears if not already crying. Finally, he opened his mouth and said: "Joanna Beth Harvelle, come on up!"

All of the girls turned to face a rather short and thin blonde girl who seemed utterly terrified. Unlike the rest of them, she hadn't yet shed a single tear but seemed well on her way of joining them as she was shoved onto the stage. She looked at the crowd with wide eyes, her features paled by fear, and trembled so badly it was painfully obvious from where Sam stood. His heart quaked for the girl he barely knew. All the information he had on Joanna Beth Harvelle was that she helped her mother, Ellen, maintain a bar.

Azazel opened his arms and embraced Joanna tightly, relishing in her tangible terror. "Joanna, or can I call you Jo?" he said with a grin, "How old are you, lovely girl?"

Joanna was quiet for a long moment, her lips moving but no audible sound crossing them. Finally, after a brief tap on the back courtesy of Azazel, she spat out: "S-sixteen."

"Sixteen, wow!" Azazel said with faked enthusiasm. "Not our youngest participant nor our oldest, but you were so close to making it out."

The latter declaration was what finally pushed Joanna over the edge, having her spill wrecked sobs in front of thousands of people. Azazel brushed it off absently. "Now Joanna, do you have a brother or sister?" he asked.

Joanna's eyes left the stage on which she stood and looked directly at the back of crowd where those ineligible stood. "Ash—" she said with a gasp, "B-but he's twenty-six, he's not—"

"Don't worry, lovely girl!" Azazel interrupted with a laugh, "We don't discriminate based on age this year!" He turned his attention to the crowd, "Ash Harvelle, come on up!"

After a few motionless seconds, the Peacekeepers attending the ceremony began pushing through the crowds in search for Ash and eventually pulled him away from Ellen's grasp. She released a sharp shriek of horror at the sight of her son being dragged to the stage and to stand by her daughter. As the odds would have them, she would most likely never see either of them again.

Once Ash stumbled on the stage, Joanna ran to him, hugging him as he cried and he returned the touch with just as much grief. They held each other for a moment and cried as Azazel motioned the others witnessing the heartbreaking event to clap in forced celebration. Finally, he moved back to the siblings and began asking him a few questions.

"Your sister mentioned you were twenty-six, is that correct?" he asked before shoving the microphone in his face.

He nodded frantically and swallowed before saying: "Yeah."

"It must be something to be dragged back into the game after being safe for so long." Azazel mocked before moving back to the center of the stage. "Anyways, back to selecting the final two contestants of district 7."

Azazel approached the globe filled with all of the boys' names. Sam strangely felt calm and confident unlike every other year. He didn't think his name would be chosen, it was near impossible. It would definitely be someone else, there was just no way it could be him. And then Azazel said:

"The boys' tribute is… Sam Winchester."

Sam's name echoed in his ears for what felt like forever. He was numb, lost in his mind. When he stopped staring at the ground and looked around him, he saw that everyone was staring at him with wide eyes. His friends were muttering things but Sam couldn't hear. He was consumed by disbelief and a loud ringing in his hear inhibited him from hearing remotely anything. His eyes darted to the stage where he noticed Azazel waving at him brightly to join him and the others on the stage but Sam found himself unable to respond.

Before he could think about reacting or moving in the slightest, two Peacekeepers grabbed either of his arms and dragged him on the stage, pushing him towards Azazel. He stumbled forward, looking back at the huge crowd and noticing a scuffle in the back. He could see his father wrestling four soldiers on his own. John was most likely shouting but, as it was, Sam was too consumed by shock to hear any of his words until Azazel hooked an arm around his shoulder.

"Sam Winchester," he said, his voice blaring in Sam's ear and snapping him out of his trance, "I assume that was your dad back there."

Sam looked again in direction of his father and noticed the guards the dragging him away, blood trickling down the side of his face. They had knocked him out before pulling him away from the ceremony.

"So Sammy," Azazel continued with a laugh rolling behind his words, "How old are you? You seem like you're seventeen or eighteen, am I right?"

"Seven…seventeen…" Sam corrected absently.

"You look a tad older." Azazel commented, amused, "Nonetheless, if you would have been eighteen, then you wouldn't have been able to participate! Do you have a brother or a sister, Sam?"

Sam didn't answer, he was looking through the crowd for Dean, and so Azazel was forced to repeat his question three times before receiving an answer. "His…" Sam finally responded, "Dean…"

"Dean Winchester, eh?" Azazel asked with a wide grin before turning to the audience, "Well come on up and join your brother!"

Unlike Ash, Dean didn't need an escort to the stage. He pushed through everyone else and climbed onto it in haste before enveloping Sam in his arms and holding onto him tightly. It was only when he felt the wet fabric of Dean's shirt against his face that Sam realised he was crying. He held on to Dean tighter and buried his face in his shoulder, ignoring Azazel as he continued to speak.

"It's okay, Sammy…" Dean whispered to him, his grip tightening, "We're going to be okay…"

"Dean-o!" Azazel said with a laugh, "I can call you that, right?"

"No." Dean responded dryly.

Azazel dismissed the answer quickly, "Anyways," he said, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two." Dean said.

"And just when you thought you were out of the bag, am I right?" Azazel laughed jokingly before moving away from the brothers. He stood on the edge of the stage and opened his arms in glee as he finally concluded: "Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen of district 7! This year's tributes are Joanna Beth and Ash Harvelle representing the women, and Sam and Dean Winchester for the men!"

The crowd applauded timidly, mourning the loss of the sibling tributes quietly as they were redirected off the stage. "May the odds ever be in your favour or some nonsense like that." Azazel said before retreating as well.

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**Btw, if you want the next chapter, a minimum of 4 reviews is required.**


	2. Mentor

Everything was strangely quiet upon being shepherded into the back of the stage. No one present, not even the guards, spoke the least bit as the two pairings stood on opposites sides of the room and waited for directions. Azazel soon came prancing in, laughing and talking noisily as to aggravate and mock the tributes that had been chosen for the current year's Hunger Games. All four of them glared at him before he finally settled in front of them, explaining how things would now work.

"Right," he said, "District 7 has had a few lot of winners in the past, however, most of them are dead or simply far too old to be teaching any of you anything. So, due to that small problem, you'll all be receiving training from your district's latest victor: Bobby Singer."

Both Sam and Dean pivoted towards the mentioned man as he walked through one of the back doors. Bobby Singer had been an old friend of their father's, sent in the arena some time ago and miraculously emerging victorious. Though he had been permitted to live a comfortable and wealthy life in the district, John had never seen or heard from Bobby again after his victory. Nonetheless, John spoke about Bobby with great pride and expressed how relieved he had been when his friend had won the Hunger Games. However, as previously mentioned, that was some time ago and a lot of things had obviously changed.

Bobby Singer, the man meant to ready all four of them for the Hunger Games, was wearing a clean suit typically from the Capitol. It seemed awkward on him seeing as he was now a rather short man with a beer belly, a scruffy beard and had the general appearance of a poor drunkard. Bobby looked at all four tributes for a long, quiet moment before sighing deeply and walking to a small buffet. He grabbed a glass and filled it with the first bottle of alcohol he saw before retreating back to his new 'students' and commencing his job.

"I'm Bobby Singer." He said monotonously, "I am going to be your trainer and teach you all the best methods to survive in the arena before sending you off to your inevitable deaths."

"Don't be so pessimistic!" Azazel laughed, "Maybe they'll win."

"Shut up." Bobby shot back immediately before downing most of the alcohol in his cup. Azazel sent him a glare before leaving and Bobby waited for the door to close behind him before continuing. "Anyways, the train that'll take us to the Capitol will arrive soon. Before we go, you all get to see your families one last time."

They nodded and the Peacekeepers in the room opened the door, permitting the visitors to enter. Ellen, the mother of Joanna Beth and Ash Harvelle, entered the room at full speed, embracing both of her children as she trembled with grief. She couldn't repress the tears she desperately tried to hold back and both of her children crumbled before her as soon as the first tear fell from her eye. Sam and Dean watched with great pity and empathy.

"My babies…" Ellen whispered, her voice sounding choked and croaked.

"I'm sorry mom—" Joanna tried to apologize.

"Don't." She interrupted, and gripped them tighter. "It's not your fault."

"But Ash—"

"I said stop, Jo." Elle interrupted again. She finally pulled away to look at her children. "It's not your fault."

There was silence for a moment, Joanna and Ash both cried silently, facing their mother who had, by then, stopped crying. The grief she felt, however, was still very present. "Ash," she said, he flinched and looked at her, "I want you to take good care of your sister."

"I will." He assured.

"And Jo," Ellen said, "Make sure your brother doesn't do anything stupid."

Joanna forced a smile as she cried and nodded, "Okay."

"I want the two of you to come back to me, you hear?" Ellen said, her lips trembled and she looked as though she was about to break down again but she kept herself together, "Neither of you get to die there, understand? Just—do what you got to do and come home."

Joanna and Ash rubbed their tears away and nodded. They hugged their mother one last time before she was pushed out of the room against her will and forced to abandon her children. Sam and Dean both exchanged looks as the door closed and Bobby approached them again.

"Well I suppose that's it for the visits then." He concluded.

"Wait—" Dean said quickly, "Our dad, we didn't get to see our dad."

Bobby paused, "Strange," he said, "I'll go see if there's anything they can clarify about that."

He moved to the door from which Ellen had emerged and knocked on it twice. The door opened and he whispered something to whomever was on the other side. The conversation lasted a few seconds before the door closed and Bobby moved back to them. His expression seemed grave and regrettable, as though he had nothing but bad news to say. "Your father is being detained." He said, "He knocked out one of the Peacekeepers and damaged another two before finally being apprehended. He's now being detained and questioned in regards to his actions. I don't think I need to tell you boys what that means."

Dean and Sam shook their heads before scooting closer to one another. Their father was being tortured and would eventually be killed.

They were now all alone.

Bobby lead the way to the station where the train headed to the Capitol would take them. Upon boarding, Joanna, Ash, Dean and Sam were separated and brought into different parts of the train to be cleaned and prepare them for the next step in participating in the Hunger Games. Cleaning their desolated states took about an hour or so, they were then forced to wear Capitol clothing before they were brought to a wagon where they would dine in company of Bobby Singer and Azazel.

The car was loaded with food which looked all the more appetizing than the others. There were mountains of desert, ones that Dean would have devoured in minutes. Another table had more healthy foods, vegetables and fruits mainly, which Sam would have enjoyed eating. However, as it was, neither of them had an appetite. Joanna and Ash seemed to be in the same state. They exchanged looks before turning to Bobby Singer who had gathered a plate of sweets and a couple of bottles of alcohol. Azazel sat on the other end of the wagon, clearly repelled by Bobby and made it no secret to anyone with eyes.

Dean was first, he lead the way to Bobby and sat down, Sam following inches behind him whereas Joanna and Ash stayed at a cautious distance. Bobby ate absently, as though he hadn't noticed their presence. A long moment had passed during which he made no attempt to acknowledge them until Joanna lost patience and slammed her fist on the table. Bobby barely flinched. Instead, he calmly sat up and looked at her with the most unimpressed of stares before calmly taking a sip of his drink.

"What do you want?" he finally asked.

The four tributes looked at themselves in confusion, "What do you mean?" Ash said, "You're supposed to be our teacher or something."

"You want me to teach you?" Bobby asked.

"I guess." Ash said.

"Well," Bobby sighed, leaning towards Joanna, "There are more polite ways of asking than causing a ruckus, ijit."

Joanna blushed in embarrassment and looked away, "Sorry…" she mumbled.

"Better." Bobby said and leaned back and took another sip of his drink. "Well," he continued, "Believe it or not, the best way to win this thing is by making an alliance with the other participants. In the end, you will, obviously, have to kill them but, until that time comes, you'll have someone to count on. Seeing as they're taking four people per district; that means you'll be forty-eight in the arena which also means more people than usual to deal with."

"Who should we ally ourselves with?" Dean asked.

"Each other, you ijit." Bobby snapped. "You can try appealing to other districts but chances are they'll laugh at you and brush you away. You four are the best chance any of you have to make it out alive."

"But they're from the same district," Sam said, "We have all the more reason of wanting the others dead because we want to go home."

"You're on the same train and you have all the time in the world to get to know each other." Bobby stated. "If you decide to ally yourselves with other teams, you might find yourself dead faster than you expected. You four need to become friends, built trust, vow to protect each other and come to an understanding if you ever become the final four, got it?"

The four of them exchanged uneasy and suspicious gazes before slowly nodding. "Good." Bobby said. "Now grab something to eat if you want and socialize. That'll be all for today."

Sam, Dean, Joanna and Ash left Bobby's table and went to the large buffet for some food. They all stared at it quietly, wondering if the others would take some of it but none ever did. The fear and anxiety of their current predicament had taken away their appetite. So, instead, they settled on grabbing the jug of water and bringing it back to a table where they sat together in silence.

All of them had a cup of water facing them or in their hands. They contented themselves with staring into it rather than at the others and found it to be a suitable enough excuse to not communicate. However, the consequences of their actions began to weigh in their minds and Sam was the first to break the tense silence.

"I'm Sam." He said, "But I guess you already knew that."

"Ash." Ash said and offered his hand, "I wasn't really paying attention to whatever Azazel was saying after I was brought on stage."

"Call me Jo." Joanna said, following her brother's example.

"Dean." Dean concluded.

After shaking hands for a bit, they fell back into the tense silence before Joanna spoke. "So what's up with your dad?" she asked, "Why didn't he show up?"

"He flipped when Sam was called." Dean explained. "He immediately tried to get to the stage but the Peacekeepers stopped him."

"What about your mom, then?" Joanna continued.

"She died when we were little." Sam answered.

"Oh, sorry." Joanna mumbled.

"What about your dad? Where is he?" Dean asked.

"He died a while ago." Ash said, "Murdered, we never really knew by who. The Peacekeepers didn't investigate and, if they did, they didn't tell us."

"Sorry for you loss." Sam said.

Ash smiled bitterly and took a sip from his cup, "I'm sorry for all of our losses and the ones to come."

"Amen." Dean smirked and drank as well. "So on a scale of one to ten," he continued, "How fucked are you guys for this thing?"

Joanna and Ash exchanged looks, "I wouldn't say our odds are bad." Joanna said. "We have some skill in combat."

"What about you?" Ash asked.

"Same." Dean said dryly.

"Our…our dad taught us a few things." Sam added after a moment. "He was always scared we'd end up in the Games so he wanted us to be as ready as we could be if it ever happened."

Dean glared at Sam, most likely upset for having divulged so much information, but it seemed to loosen Joanna and Ash. "Our dad was a big knife collector." Joanna said, "When he died, his collection went to me."

"He taught us a thing or two too." Ash said, "But it was mainly about the knife itself and not how to fight."

"Like what?" Sam asked, encouraging the conversation.

"The most efficient ways to cut things and whatever." Ash said, "He was a Smith so knowing these things was his passion. I guess he wanted it to live on through us."

"What did your dad teach you?" Joanna asked.

"Everything." Dean said.

"What do you mean?" Joanna asked, skeptically.

"Literally everything." Dean repeated. "Like Sam said, dad was terrified we would end up in the Games and so made sure we were as ready as possible. He taught us how to use literally anything we found as a weapon."

"Dean's strong suit is close combat." Sam said, "He's also a really good shot though."

"Sam's a strategist." Dean said, "He uses his brain more than his bronze and it works."

"So you guys could be pretty good on your own." Ash concluded and the understated message hadn't gone unnoticed.

Sam and Dean had spoken a tad too much about their abilities. Joanna and Ash most likely felt threatened by them and could potentially seek to end them first since they now how had a pretty good idea of what they'd be up against. They were most likely far superior to the other two and would most likely be able to dominate them. Sam, regardless of having no ill will towards the Harvelle siblings, saw this as an advantage. If they could form an alliance with them, gain their trust and use them as objects of defense and offence until all or their most notable threats were eliminated, he and Dean could return home.

"I… think it'll take more than that to survive out there." Sam said quickly before the conversation fell dry, "I think Bobby is right and that alliances will be necessary. Some of the participants in the other districts have been training all their lives to participate in the Games, we'll need each other to survive or defeat them."

"You're right." Ash concluded and then stuck out his hand, "Then let's make a pact here and now. We'll work together, as a team, to defeat the others."

"And what about when we're the only ones left?" Joanna asked. "If we ever get to that point."

"We'll fight with honour and respect." Sam decided, "No foul tricks and no nothing, we'll be just and whatever happens, happens."

Joanna seemed convinced by the reasoning, she and Ash both shook Sam's hand before turning their attention to Dean who had observed everything rather quietly. He wasn't much of one for strategy or contemplating for too long certain situations but, in this case, Sam could tell he was seriously considering the alliance with the Harvelles. It was quite obvious they were nothing for him to fear and so Sam couldn't quite understand his brother's reluctance in regards to temporarily joining forces. Nonetheless, Dean did shake hands with them, sealing their promise and participated in getting to know them further.

The four tributes spent the rest of the day chatting, sometimes joking and laughing regardless of their horrid situation, until they retreated to their respective rooms. However, before going off to bed, they received one last bit of news that shocked all of them as much as it did Bobby and Azazel. Rather than there being forty-eight contestants for the hundredth Hunger Games, there would be fifty because two siblings of the Capitol had volunteered. When asked why, Bobby and Azazel had no explanations to provide. The shocking announcement had baffled them both and there was evidently a lot of information that escaped the public's notice.

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**Next chapter: Castiel enters :D**


	3. Justice

Castiel awoke to the sound of his alarm buzzing. It shut off on its own after a minute and so he stayed in bed for a tad longer. He shifted to his side, looking out the large windows of his room displaying the large buildings of the Capitol and some of the buzzing life down in the streets. He could see the impossible shapes of dresses that women had decided to wear during the day and sighed. Castiel was a simple man of simple taste and, regardless of the fact of having lived amongst the people of the Capitol his entire life, didn't understand their outrageous styles.

However, Castiel's simplicity was generally looked down upon in such a high class society. He would have been discriminated against if he wouldn't have been the brother of the current presidents: Michael and Lucifer Angel. It was a first for everyone when the brothers had decided to take the power from their father together but seeing as their ideologies were relatively the same, there was no clash. In fact, the Capitol and the districts had never been more excellently managed before. Michael and Lucifer knew their strong suits when it came to ruling, Lucifer knew how to control the poor whereas Michael knew how to maintain the rich. Together, they were seemingly unstoppable.

And yet, though their political life was a success, the family matter was entirely different. Since the death of their father, the previous president, their insanely large family was in chaos. Michael struggled to keep the affair a secret from the other rich and influential folk but, as the hundredth Hunger Games rolled by, the task seemed increasingly impossible. Part of the problem was Castiel.

As one of the exemplary siblings, Castiel had a great influence over his brothers and sisters. Thus, when he declared the Games to be barbaric, uncultured and a shame to the country of Panem, many of his siblings decided to share in the same opinion and protest. And so the family began to be torn apart due to wavering ideologies but Michael and Lucifer had received no word of it until a week later due to their busy schedules.

Castiel was then summoned to their office to talk about the chaos he had sparked within the comfort of their home. They demanded he retract his statement and appease the siblings that had decided to share in the same opinion. Though his older brothers were quite terrifying and to be taken seriously in every way, Castiel refused. Seeing as he was now faced with the two most powerful men in Panem, he assumed that if he could make them understand, he could make a difference.

"What part of the Hunger Games is deemed morally right?" Castiel had asked. "Forcing children to kill other children in order to survive is deplorable and hardly reflects the Capitol's true image."

"It's not a matter of image, Castiel." Lucifer had replied gravely, "The Hunger Games is a sign of total domination. A way to control the population with fear and subject them to our complete rule without question. Fear is the only way to govern them."

"There are other, more peaceful ways, to manage a country." Castiel insisted, "The Hunger Games only inspire hate, disgust and dread to the people of the district who are forced to send their children to their deaths. These _games_ are hardly just that, they are publicised executions and the biggest taunt to the common folk."

"The Games prevent rebellions." Michael stated.

"For the moment," Castiel said, "But when the people get fed up, when they decide enough is enough, the Hunger Games will be the cause of their rebellion."

"Do you question our rule, Castiel?" Michael asked dangerously low.

"Not in the slightest," Castiel said, "I believe the two of you are most suited to guide Panem to greatness and prosperity."

"And yet you stand before us," Lucifer remarked, "Demanding we put an end to a century-long tradition in the name of…of what exactly?"

"Justice." Castiel replied confidently. "By stopping the Games, sparing the children of the district from this year and on, you will show the districts how benevolent and loving you are and that, rather than being feared, you should be loved. There will be no cause for rebellion or civil war if every member of Panem loves their leaders."

"And why bring this to us now?" Michael asked, "Why not a year ago?"

"This year is more significant." Castiel stated, "The Hundredth anniversary of the Hunger Games is rather important and if the massacre would cease this very year, the love inspired in the districts would surpass the degree of what it would have been on a different year."

Michael seemed a bit convinced by his younger brother's arguments, however he was clearly more impressed by the fact that Castiel had mustered the courage to speak his mind. He quietly looked to Lucifer, waiting for his brother's lead on the matter since, at the given moment, he was entirely indifferent to the Games being cancelled or resumed. He personally found it to be oversold and not remotely as interesting as any other annual activity the Capitol had planned.

"Castiel," Lucifer said smoothly, "Do you know exactly why the Hunger Games started? Because, honestly, if you did, we wouldn't be here right now." He waited for a moment and when Castiel said nothing, he continued, "A bit more than a hundred years ago, the country was ruled in a peaceful manner. Everyone was equal and everything was as perfect as a child's faery tale. However, people weren't satisfied with the way things were. People were greedy, specifically the districts. They wanted more and so they rebelled. The Capitol managed to contain the situation, repressing the rebels and annihilating one of the districts in the process. Then, the Hunger Games were created. Now do you know why all of that was necessary?"

Castiel shook his head, "No."

"Of course you don't." Lucifer smirked, "Destroying the district that had inspired the will to rebel was significant. It demonstrated the Capitol's power and the repercussions to any district that dared repeat the actions of the other. It was to keep them in line."

"Then what use is the Hunger Games?" Castiel asked.

"To have them remember." Lucifer said, "To make sure they never forgot what happened a hundred years ago and the consequences that occurred. Peace and serenity was good while it lasted, but times have changed what the ideal you wish for, little brother, is impossible."

"The Games will not be cancelled, Castiel." Michael concluded, "You would do well to advise your brothers and sisters to calm down and keep your opinions to yourself from now on."

Castiel would have argued further but he knew that his brothers were done and that anything else he would have said wouldn't have mattered. And so, with a heavy heart, he left. He did as his brothers told him, demanded his siblings stop their protests and most of them obeyed. Only a selected few decided to continue, shunning him for having abandoned his cause so easily.

And now seven weeks had passed and Castiel felt unsettled by the Hunger Games and everything else. A part of him wondered if the special rule for this year's Hunger Games had been made to spite and mock Castiel's efforts. And as more siblings were dragged to the Capitol before being shoved to their deaths, Castiel wondered if things would have been different if he hadn't said anything. His heart clenched at the uncertainty and the weight of the blame he attributed to himself.

"Cas." Gabriel said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "You still sleeping?"

Castiel shifted in his bed before sitting and facing his older brother, "No, why do you ask?"

"Well it's noon and you're still not out of bed." Gabriel remarked.

"That's impossible, I—" Castiel looked at the clock next to his bed and froze upon seeing the time. He had been laying in bed for nearly four hours since his alarm went off, lost in his thoughts. He frowned and looked out the window again, never had he felt such discuss for a place he used to love.

"Cas?" Gabriel asked as he moved to his bed and sat on the edge, "What's up?"

"The Hunger Games." He answered bitterly and Gabriel rolled his eyes at the response.

"Still sour about having been booted back into place?" He joked and punched his brother playfully, "Come on Cas, you should have known talking to those two was a lost cause from the start."

"Lucifer says fear is the only way to rule nowadays." Castiel said, "I think he's wrong."

"Maybe," Gabriel shrugged, "But is what they're doing working or not? They've been doing a great job managing the country, even the poorest districts agree."

"But for how long will they remain quiet?" Castiel asked, "Especially now that Michael and Lucifer decided that two pairs of siblings from each district were to be sent to their deaths. In average, most families have two children. They'll be annihilating what little happiness those families could have mustered from their situation."

"Cas," Gabriel said softly as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "There's nothing you can do about it, you got to let it go. As long as Michael and Lucifer don't know what it feels like, they're not going to do anything about it because they won't be able to care."

Castiel wanted to keep arguing but remained quiet. He knew Gabriel was right and, in any case, it was pointless to complain to him seeing as he had no more power than anyone else to make things change. And so he changed out of his night clothes into something presentable before following Gabriel to where the family had gathered to watch the Reaping of district 7.

Upon his arrival, Anna and Samandriel both glared at him before turning their gazes back to the televised event. Gabriel and Castiel had arrived just in time to see Azazel present the mandatory Hunger Games video. They sat somewhere on the edge of the arc they had created and were quickly joined by Balthazar.

"So who were the unlucky ones from the other districts?" Gabriel asked.

"I don't remember all of them," Balthazar admitted before continuing, "But there was Ruby and Lilith Black from district 1, Dick and Edgar Roman also from district 1, Kevin and Garth Tran from district 3, Abaddon and Crowley Killorun, again, from district 3, Gordon and Kubrick Walker from district 4, and Alastair and Meg Masters from district 5."

"What district is this?" Castiel asked.

"Seven." Uriel said as he sat next to his brothers.

Castiel frowned but remained quiet as Azazel's face returned on the screen. He honestly hated that man. He took far too much pleasure in sending children to their deaths and destroying the families. He was a cruel man and Castiel hoped every day that he would finally get what he deserved. However, life was never the fairest of places.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way," Azazel said as two ceremony volunteers pushed the globes containing the names of all eligible boys and girls of the district on stage, "Time to get at the fun part!"

"I like the cut of his jib." Uriel smirked.

"Why?" Castiel asked.

"There's just something so amusing about him." Uriel said, "I love watching him reap names."

"Joanna Beth Harvelle, come on up!" Azazel shouted.

When the first images of Joanna were displayed, all of the Angel siblings began mumbling amongst each other. Some were sympathetic whereas others blatantly mocked the poor girl.

"She's so thin." Balthazar said regrettably.

"She'll be one of the firsts if she doesn't have a butch brother or sister to help out." Gabriel commented.

"Joanna, or can I call you Jo?" Azazel asked mockingly, "How old are you, lovely girl?"

"S-sixteen." She spat out after Azazel briefly tapped her back,

"Christ." Balthazar sighed.

"Oh come on now," Uriel said, "She's not the youngest to ever get reaped. Lilith Black is far younger than she."

"Now Joanna, do you have a brother or sister?" Azazel asked.

"Ash—" Joanna gasped, looking at the crowd with wide eyes, "B-but he's twenty-six, he's not—"

"Don't worry, lovely girl!" Azazel interrupted with a laugh, "We don't discriminate based on age this year!" He turned his attention to the audience, "Ash Harvelle, come on up!"

"Look at the hope drain from her face!" Uriel laughed. "She thought she could get out of it for a minute!"

A couple more of the Angel siblings laughed when the mother of the siblings began to cry out and fight to take her children away. Castiel's frown deepened as his heart weighed all the more. He looked over at Anna who glared death at him, blaming him for what was happening.

"Your sister mentioned you were twenty-six, is that correct?" Azazel asked as he shoved the microphone in Ash's face.

"Yeah." He responded meekly.

"Gosh, he sounds like an idiot." One of the siblings said.

"Yeah, they're both screwed." Another agreed.

"It must be something to be dragged back into the game after being safe for so long." Azazel mocked before moving back to the center of the stage. Castiel's fists clenched at the comment. "Anyways, back to selecting the final two contestants of district 7."

Castiel wanted to leave. He had had enough of Azazel's cruelness and the heartlessness of his family. He didn't want to see the rest of the reaping and he would have left if Gabriel hadn't held him back. No conversation had been exchanged and yet so many words had been said. Gabriel understood him, better than anyone, and so when he was told to stay Castiel knew it was for a good reason – most likely involving Michael and Lucifer. So he sat back down, glaring at the screen as Azazel plunged his hand back down in the second globe and fished out a name.

"The boy's tribute is… Sam Winchester." He declared.

The cameras panned towards the crowd, waiting to see the boy tribute immerge, but no one moved a muscle. For a moment, everyone was confused. Had the boy not attended? Had he fled? Was he dead? But then the cameras focused on a man in the back, fighting madly, which confirmed to everyone that Sam Winchester was obviously present. Finally, he was fished from his group while the violent man was dragged away.

He seemed utterly shocked as though he had never expected to march up on the stage. And though it was a sentiment shared by most reaped children, Castiel sensed or rather, noticed, something different in Sam Winchester. It was as if Castiel was personally witnessing this boy's world crumble around him and never had he felt so dismayed to see someone with such an expression on that stage.

"Sam Winchester," Azazel said, snapping him out of his trance, "I assume that was your dad back there."

Sam remained quiet and stared in direction of his father.

"So Sammy," Azazel continued nonchalantly, "How old are you? You seem like you're seventeen or eighteen, am I right?"

"He does look rather old." Gabriel commented. "Maybe they forgot to take out his name."

"Seven…seventeen…" Sam corrected absently.

"You look a tad older." Azazel admitted, amused, "Nonetheless, if you would have been eighteen, then you wouldn't have been able to participate! Do you have a brother or a sister, Sam?"

Sam was so out of it, Azazel had to repeat his question three times before receiving an answer. "His…" Sam finally responded, Dean…"

"Dean Winchester, eh?" Azazel asked with a wide grin before turning to the audience, "Well come on up and join your brother!"

"Do you think he'll be beefy?" Uriel asked.

"I hardly think that matters," Balthazar said, "Look at the size of that man alone. He has no need for assistance in this situation but I suppose it couldn't hurt."

When Dean Winchester was shown on camera, nearly everyone gasped or sighed upon seeing him. Other than being ten times more masculine than his brother, Dean was remarkably handsome and had most likely swayed the hearts of most of Castiel's sisters.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Uriel joked, "I give you this year's winners."

Castiel ignored his brother. He watched intently as Dean climbed on the stage without any assistance and ran to his brother, enveloping him in his arms. In that moment, Castiel couldn't help but wonder how he would have felt in his place. They held each other tightly, Dean whispering things to his brother, most likely to comfort him, and only stopped when Azazel approached them.

"Dean-o!" Azazel said with a laugh, "I can call you that, right?"

"No." Dean responded dryly and Castiel found himself rooting for him.

"Anyways," Azazel said dismissively, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two." Dean said.

"And just when you thought you were out of the bag, am I right?" Azazel laughed jokingly before moving away from the brothers. He stood on the edge of the stage and opened his arms in glee as he finally concluded: "Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen of district 7! This year's tributes are Joanna Beth and Ash Harvelle representing the women, and Sam and Dean Winchester for the men! May the odds ever be in your favour or some nonsense like that!"

The screen darkened and the timid applauds faded as a commercial appeared. The Angel siblings slowly began dispersing, chatting about the new additions to the Games and some already deciding that the Wincester brothers would be their bidding horse. Castiel, on the other hand, stared at nothing and reflected on the image of the brothers clutching at each other. Their faces had been eternally etched into his mind and Castiel simply couldn't shake a tormenting feeling. He continued to wonder how he would have reacted if he or a sibling would have been called to that stage and he were chosen to participate in the event.

"Something wrong, Cas?" Balthazar asked.

Castiel shook his head. "No." he lied.

And that was the end of that.

For the rest of the day, the nagging feeling Castiel had felt upon seeing Dean climb onto the stage followed him everywhere. It was permanently at the back of his mind until he sat down for supper and dabbled on it a bit more seriously. He tried to imagine the emotions coursing through him if he would ever wound up in a similar situation and found himself crying. And then he thought to himself: _If only Michael and Lucifer would understand._

Suddenly, Castiel remembered something Gabriel had said earlier that day: "As long as Michael and Lucifer don't know what it feels like, they're not going to do anything about it because they won't be able to care." which gave him an idea. He finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked around him, mildly surprised to see all of his siblings staring at him in confusion.

"Cas…?" Anna asked.

"Something wrong, little brother?" Gabriel said as he nudged him softly.

He remained baffled for a minute before he managed to find his words and declare: "I'm…I'm going to participate."

"Participate in what?" Raphael asked from the other end of the long table.

"In the Hunger Games." Castiel said.

The table had erupted in protests and angry cries of disbelief. Castiel nonetheless left the table and wordlessly made his way to find the broadcasting tower where he would announce his participation. However, before he made it to their current home's elevator, Gabriel had managed to catch up with him. He slipped into the elevator and closed the door before any other sibling could find their way in the compact room.

"What the hell are you thinking!?" Gabriel snapped, punching his brother.

"It's like you said," Castiel said, accepting the blow, "As long as Michael and Lucifer don't know what it feels like, they won't do anything about it."

"No, no, no!" Gabriel said angrily, "Do _not_ pin this on me! I never told you to go out there and die!"

"I know you didn't." Castiel reassured, "But it's something I need to do if it means this horror can stop."

"Are you expecting them to just call off the Games because you decided to join?" Gabriel yelled. "Do you think they'll actually do that!?"

"A part of me hopes they will." Castiel admitted.

"They're not like that Castiel!" Gabriel growled, slamming his fist into the metal wall, "They'll let the Games progress as they're meant to and let you enter the arena to die! _You're going to die_!"

Castiel didn't say anything. It wasn't as though he wanted to die, he wanted to live like anyone else – including the tributes of each district.

"If you think you're doing something noble, you're not." Gabriel snapped, "Those tributes, they won't think twice about killing you just because you, a rich kid from the Capitol, decided to be stupid enough to join them! If anything you'll be the first person they'll gun for!"

Gabriel was right and Castiel knew it. And yet, he found himself unable to call off his actions because, every time he considered it, he would remember Sam and Dean. "I know." Castiel finally said.

"Then stop it." Gabriel said, thinking he had finally pierced through his brother's thick skull with reason, "We'll get off at the next floor and explain to everyone that it was just a misunderstanding—"

"Gabriel." Castiel said, stopping his brother from pressing a different button, "I'm still going to volunteer."

The look of despair overcoming Gabriel broke Castiel's heart. He imagined that in that very moment, Gabriel could relate perfectly to anyone from the districts that had to send off a loved one to die and couldn't stop it. Gabriel had finally realized he wouldn't be able to change Castiel's mind.

The doors finally opened on the bottom floor and Castiel walked out, expecting to continue the journey alone when Gabriel walked back to his side and wordlessly followed him. "I can do this on my own, Gabriel." Castiel said.

"I know." Gabriel said, "But this year's rules is that all tributes must be accompanied by a sibling since it'll be a family event or some crap like that. So I'm your sibling, your partner, whatever."

"Gab—"

"Shut up." Gabriel interrupted. "If you're not going to listen to reason, then I won't either."


	4. Capitol

District 7's train arrived in the Capitol a week later, by then district 8's tributes had been announced and only four weeks would remain before the Hunger Games traditions would begin. Sam, Dean, Joanna and Ash had managed to become friends during that time. Though their situation was grim and hopeless they found the strength necessary to joke and laugh in each other. During that time, Bobby had also taught them a substantial amount of things.

Seeing as they would be working as a team, their roles and functions were displayed accordingly so they could train and focus on their strong suits. Ash didn't have much physical strength to his advantage but was incredibly intelligent and clever. He knew how to fashion weapons, traps and other things with just the material surrounding them and proved to be a rather useful strategist when Bobby gave them certain scenarios. It was then decided that Ash would be the brains of the operation and would be the one to keep tabs on important things such as provisions, medical supplies and things of the like.

It was then discovered that Joanna was far better with knives than she or her brother let on throughout the first few days. In many ways, Sam thought she was equal to Dean. Her aims were precise and effective and the only fault that could be attributed to her immediately was that she didn't have perfect control over her strength. She had a tendency to use too much energy and so Bobby told her that she would need to learn how to control that as best as possible before the Games began. Nonetheless, Bobby gathered she would best be used as an object of offense.

As for Dean, it was pretty clear that he would be the bronze and tank of their group from the beginning. During the mini training sessions Bobby had organized on the train, he barely had any remarks to make on Dean's fighting technique and use of energy. It was only when they had spent enough time together that Bobby was able to deduce Dean's weakness was his emotions. And so he needed to work on keeping a cool, level head on his shoulders otherwise it could mean his demise. Dean accepted the critic begrudgingly.

Finally, Sam was a bit of a wild card. Bobby reckoned he was stronger than Joanne but less than Dean. He also found that Sam was as smart as Ash but that his main skills lied in his adaptability. As Sam had already realized about himself before, he was particularly skilled in reading opponents and altering his position as to efficiently counter or block whatever was coming. Thus Bobby decided Sam would also be the brains as his adaptability would be more than useful but he would also double as a fighter if need would ever be.

As for the way things would work in the arena; Bobby told them the most essential thing they would have to find would be food and water. Most of the tributes died of dehydration or were significantly weakened by the lack of food. Finding provisions were to thus be of the highest priority especially since they had the wit about them to construct weapons from scratch. They were also warned against the bloodbath that normally occurred at the beginning of each Game. The weapons that were placed in the center would typically be claimed by one of the career districts and so should be avoided by them since, for the most part, they hadn't been trained all their lives.

"But what if there's something useful?" Dean asked.

"Of course there'll be something useful, that's why there's always a bloodbath." Bobby snapped, "If you want to survive, you'll have to be smart here and avoid the center of the starting point. You can go back later if you want but chances are there will be nothing of someone camping the area."

In regards to the other contestants, Bobby highly suggested that they keep an eye on the others when they go to the training grounds for practice. If they feel up for it or see the opportunity, they should try adding more people to their alliance. In the end, it would increase their survival rate if they chose wisely. As for the two volunteers from the Capitol…

"Steer clear of them." Bobby warned.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because they'll be nothing but trouble." Bobby stated.

"You think they'll be more prepared than the rest of us?" Ash asked.

"Heavens no." Bobby said as though Ash was on a hallucinogenic, "If you get involved with them or team up with them, you'll most likely be dead first."

"Why do you think that?" Joanna asked.

"Because they're from the Capitol." Bobby said, "You're pissed at the Capitol for putting you in this godforsaken game, aren't you? Well so are they and what better way to take out their anger than on idiots from the Capitol?"

"But why did they join the Games?" Dean asked, "I mean, they should have known doing so would mean their death."

"Honestly, kid," Bobby sighed, "Your guess is as good as mine for the moment. I don't know if they're idiots, doing it for sport or trying to prove a point. In the end, I think whatever they're doing is going to fail."

And thus they were warned against everything that mattered. Bobby told them that it was in their best interest to play it smart and know everything about what they'd be dealing with. He told them to learn the arena as best as they could but to never get too confident since it had tricks beneath its sleeve to make things more interesting for the viewers. The landscape could also alter itself unexpectedly and so he pressured them to stay on their toes. He also told them to treat whatever they found within the arena as though it was the most dangerous thing they had ever encountered because it might as well be. The designers had a tendency to add things like poison berries or carnivorous plants to trick some of the tributes into accidentally killing themselves. Ash and Sam were thus put on the task to memorise as many plants as possible.

Other than that, there was nothing more Bobby could do to help them. He wasn't an expert at fighting nor was he particularly intelligent. He was reasonable and logical and, by playing it safe, he had saved his own life and won the Games. He told the four tributes of district 7 that he would always be there to answer their questions if they had any but, from that point on, they needed to work things out themselves. Hence they arrived to the Capitol with Bobby's wise advice drilled in their heads and a bond uniting them against the other tributes.

The Capitol was far bigger than any of them could have imagined. It was also exceptionally clean and the architecture was significantly different from that of district 7. Sam, Dean, Joanna and Ash felt as though they had walked into an entirely different world. They stood next to each other close, taken aback by the enormity of everything surrounding them as well as the rather odd fashion of the people in the Capitol. The dresses and outfits they wore were of impossible shapes and flamboyant colours. Everyone also wore layers of makeup to whiten their skin and accentuate the colours of their notable features such as their eyes and lips. And as Hunger Games tradition would have, they too would be forced into similar wear and forced to conduct themselves like other members of the Capitol.

They were quickly shepherded away from the large, inviting crowd and into vehicles that would bring them to the establishment where they would reside until the beginning of the Games. As soon as they arrived, they were separated yet again and cleaned once more, thoroughly this time, before they were measured for clothes they would be later wearing. They were then given some stand in clothes that were a tad too big for all of them and sent away while they got to work on designing their clothes.

They all met yet again in the dining area where Azazel and Bobby had made themselves comfortable around a mountain of food. The tributes joined them reluctantly, uncomfortable with Azazel's presence for he hadn't made himself quite likable during the course of their journey. Azazel had a habit of bring up negative emotions by either reminding the Winchester boys that their father had been killed or telling Joanna that her brother was going to die because of her. Essentially, whenever he had the chance, Azazel mocked them. The last thing he had done was tell Sam that he was bidding on him because he thought he had the most chances of emerging from the Games alive.

"So how was the fitting?" Bobby asked as he poured alcohol in his glass.

"Annoying." Joanna grumbled, snatching a few sweets from the organized platters.

"Fine." Sam and Ash said at the same time.

"Horrible." Dean hissed, taking the entire pie for himself, "They tried putting makeup on my face. What kind of man wears makeup?"

"It's the norm in the Capitol." Bobby said.

"Yeah, well, they all look like painted whores to me." Dean grumbled, sticking his fork into the pie, "And I ain't going to end up like one of them."

"You'd best watch your mouth, boy." Azazel warned.

"Or what?" Dean snorted, "You'll kill me? Did you forget I'm already on my way to slaughter house?"

Azazel glared at him and, before more shots could be exchanged, Bobby intervened.

"Settle down ladies." He said, "There's no use or point in bickering now."

Dean reluctantly backed down whereas Azazel decided to leave. With the man provoking the discomfort finally gone, everyone was able to relax.

"I hate that guy." Dean muttered angrily.

"Yeah, he's a pompous prick," Bobby sighed with a growl, "But you'll get used to him…maybe. Never mind, you probably won't."

The four tributes smirked, amused by Bobby's comment before returning to their earlier conversation.

"Anyways," Bobby continued, "You'll have to get used to far many other things to survive the weeks before the Hunger Games. This also means, _Dean_, that you'll have to pretend to be grateful and happy with your current status as representative of district 7."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"For sponsors." Bobby answered and, upon seeing their clueless expressions, sighed as he realized he would have to enlighten them, "As you may already know or have guessed, some people bid on who they think will emerge victorious during each Hunger Games. Whoever wins the bids normally earn a substantial amount of cash so it's a pretty big deal. In short, the wealthiest of bidders can help whoever they're bidding for by providing them with tools that will be given to them during the course of the game. The objects received can be literally anything and can potentially save your life."

"How do we get them?" Joanna asked.

"Typically, you have to put up a show." Bobby explained, "I remember, one year, a boy and a girl from district 12 pretended to be lovers before the Game's debut. A lot of people fell for the charade and they got quite a few sponsors but they died at the very beginning because they ran into the bloodbath."

"So should we, or at least Jo and Sam or Dean, pretend to be star-crossed lovers?" Ash asked.

"No," Bobby said, "It's been overdone and the people of the Capitol will most likely be annoyed with the sob story. We need to do something that will really make their hearts throb. A good way to go about it would have been to play the sibling card but seeing as this year's special rule includes them regardless of the age, that's out of the hat too."

"I know!" Sam exclaimed, "Ash can play the role of the valiant big brother, present to protect his innocent and adorable younger sister from the others in the arena and bring her back home safely."

"What!? No!" Joanna snapped, appalled by the idea of playing a weakling.

"Think about it!" Sam insisted, "If we do this right, sponsors will be moved by the tight bond you both share and will provide whatever resources necessary when the time comes. The other tributes will also see the interview right? So portraying Jo as an innocent girl who doesn't understand her situation will cause the others to underestimate her and not view her as a threat."

"That's some sharp thinking, Sam." Bobby complimented. "I like it. We'll roll with that. Now we just need to find a story for you and Dean to enact and we'll be set to go."

They thought about it long and hard, wondering what they could shove down the Capitol's throat to convince them to sponsor them but nothing came to mind. All of the ideas that were hashed out from then on were obvious, meek or something the other tributes would most likely do as well. They really needed to think of something spectacular and never seen before, but they failed. And so Bobby decided to end it there, declaring that they still had a lot of time before advertising themselves and sent them off to bed.

Once alone, Dean threw himself on his bed, punching the mattress as he tossed and turned to find a comfortable position. He ended up on his side, gazing out the large windows of his room. The view of the Capitol at night was fantastically beautiful. A part of him couldn't fathom how such a wonderful place could emit such dread and twisted morals. He glared at the nightlife for a long time before was about to try to sleep when a soft knock was heard at his door.

"Dean?" Sam whispered loudly.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, turning to look at his brother as he entered the room. Sam didn't say anything but, rather, stood awkwardly at the foot of his bed, "Can't sleep?" Dean assumed with a soft smile as he sat up. He tapped next to him, "Sit."

Sam did just that and, for a long while, they sat together, looking out to the Capitol. The fear the two share in regards to their future was silently understood as was the more intense terror of either brother losing the other. The latter fear was most likely why Sam had gone to join his brother after a while. The future was uncertain but, as their odds would most likely have it, the Hunger Games would probably be the end of them and so they wanted to enjoy their company for as long as they could.

"Our luck sucks." Sam finally said, breaking the silence.

"Tell me about it." Dean agreed, leaning forward. "But don't worry Sammy, we'll get out of this alive. I'll make sure of it."

Sam remained quiet for a moment, staring at his brother. Dean seemed rather intense and determined to fulfill his declaration. The degree of his ambition almost convinced Sam then and there that his brother would indeed succeed but he was smart and knew better. Nonetheless, it didn't hurt to believe and hope.

"Sure." Sam agreed and left it at that.


	5. Training

Four weeks passed faster than anyone would have liked. Sam and Ash spent most of their time trying to learn as much as they could about plants and their properties whereas Dean and Joanna concentrated on training as much as they could in the confines of the apartment. They had been offered quite a few times to transfer to the actual training grounds and work with better equipment than the cutlery in the kitchen but both refused. Neither wanted to be separated from their sibling for too what with having developed an extreme codependency out of sheer fear.

When the four weeks ended, it was announced that the Hunger Games would take place two weeks later and would, from then on, be forced to attend training with the other tributes so as they could be filmed for the entertainment of the Capitol. By then Sam and Ash had memorized everything they could in regards to plants and both hoped their efforts wouldn't have been for naught seeing as the arena could easily be in a desert or area with no plant life. As it was now, however, they could only do what the others did and train physically.

On their way to the training area, Bobby briefed them on the purpose of the sessions they would have to be attending regularly until the debut of the Games. "Tributes typically make alliances at these moments." He explained, "The problem with that is that you can easily end up with a backstabber just like you can find someone worth trusting. I don't believe you'll need any addition to your group but if any of you ever consider someone, consult with the others before acting on your thoughts. You all need to be on the same page. And when choosing a new ally, if you decide to do so, make sure they aren't complete dolts. You might think adding an idiot will make things easier since he or she'll be expandable but they just might end up killing you with their stupidity."

They all nodded and quietly, feeling tensions rising.

"Another thing about the training period," Bobby continued, "it'll be the moment where people will try to determine who they have to worry about and who will be an easy target. I'd say not to draw attention to yourself but doing so won't be particularly easy. What I suggest is show just a bit of your strength, not too much and yet not too little. Too much displayed strength could result in more people gunning for you because they'll see you as a threat whereas the opposite will prove that you'll be an easy target and have the same repercussions."

"So we make it seem like we're not the best," Ash said, "But that we're too much trouble for them to bother with immediately?"

"Exactly." Bobby nodded.

"Even Jo?" Sam asked, "We were planning on playing her off as innocent and weak, if the Capitol is watching then our plan won't actually be as effective."

"Jo will be the only exception." Bobby said and Joanna groaned in frustration, "She'll play her role as we planned and will be charged with the main task of observing the others. Understood?" Joanna nodded, "Jo should also be the only one of you that actually goes speak to the other tributes out of naivety. Essentially, she'll be key for you guys to determine whether or not you should add tributes to your alliance since she'll have a better idea of their reliability than any of you."

"But won't Jo be seen as an easy target for acting weak?" Ash asked, "If she doesn't show any back bone then the others will think she's easy meat and gun for her like you said."

"Not with you guys around her." Bobby said, "You three are essentially what'll discourage the others from going after her first."

"And what do we do if other tributes come to speak to us?" Dean asked.

"You _talk_ to them, you ijit." Bobby snapped, earning a glare from Dean. "Keep the conversations short if you like or do what Jo'll be doing but ignoring them won't bring about anything good. Just don't give them too much information about your aptitudes."

The building where they would train came into view. It was huge and dark gray, sticking out like a sore thumb in the midst of the other buildings of the Capitol. They only had a brief view of it before the vehicle moved into a tunnel and concrete walls and yellow lights were the only things to be seen.

"One more thing." Bobby added. "Don't talk to the volunteers from the Capitol."

And thus was the last piece of advice Bobby Singer gave any of them before they were shoved onto the training grounds.

A staff member of the building gave them a quick tour of the lieu. He showed them how to operate certain machinery and simulators and warned them of the consequences of starting any fights. They would have plenty of time to battle out their differences during the Hunger Games either way.

Sam looked around the group of fifty tributes. Most of them were between the ages of fourteen to twenty-five, or so he assumed. There were only a few exceptions, the most notable one being the seven year old girl with brown locks and big blue eyes. She wandered around holding her big sister's hand and, strangely enough, was seemingly not scared or frightened by anything. It almost seemed as though she was pondering, thinking and assessing what the man was telling them. She would most likely be full of surprises if she was ever encountered in the arena.

Then there were two seemingly scrawny kids that stood close to each other. One of them was Asian, slightly smaller than the Caucasian twig next to him. Neither had much meat on their bones and generally seemed like they had starved for most of their lives. They both reeked with fear and lack of confidence. Sam felt pity as he assumed he wasn't the only one to notice how easy prey the two would make.

Finally, the last two Sam saw before the group dispersed and chased after Dean were the volunteers from the Capitol. He was rather taken aback by how simple their styles were. Every person from the Capitol he had crossed was covered head to toe in outrageous designs and colours but the two men mingling amongst the others matched. Nonetheless, they still stuck out like sore thumbs by their mere posture and aura they emitted. For some reason, neither of the two seemed particularly scared of what would happen, almost as though they didn't understand what they had gotten themselves into. Sam spent a long time staring at them, particularly the one with the golden eyes, until he was noticed. With a small blush of embarrassment, he looked away and concentrated on the last few things the staff member had to say before dismissing them.

Dean marched over to the sparring area with Sam. They grabbed whatever equipment they good and began training relatively the same way they had when their father was coaching them. Of course, before getting to it, they waited for the other tributes to begin their own training sessions. Joanna had settled with wandering around the place like an airhead though the irritation she felt in regards to what she had to do was blatantly obvious to Ash, Sam and Dean. Ash, on the other hand, had wandered over to an electronic device that tested his knowledge on virtually anything though he mainly focused on plants.

"This seems so strange." Sam commented as he looked at the tributes. "Like it's some sort of dream…"

"More like a nightmare." Dean smirked, "But this little nightmare of yours isn't going to end, Sam. Don't give yourself the wrong idea."

"I know…" and his eyes wandered to the volunteers from the Capitol who stood apart from the others.

"Concentrate." Dean said and, without much warning, swung his weapon towards Sam. His little brother barely dodged the blow and the familiarity of Dean's cheap ways brought a smile on Sam's face as he focused all of his attention on his adversary. "Good." Dean grinned.

The two brothers quickly lost themselves in the heat of the moment. Everything around them was suddenly inexistent and it was as though they were somewhere in the woods, not far from their home, fighting with whatever weapons their father had forced them to make in five minutes. They moved swiftly, with precision and could almost hear John telling them to fix the weak points in their stances or movements as he always did. Finally, when they stopped, both brothers looked to their right out of habit to see what their father had to say and were rather startled upon seeing nothing. Sam and Dean exchanged mournful looks before dropping whatever it was they were holding and moving off the mat.

Suddenly, they noticed that most tributes who hadn't entered a simulator had stopped their activities to stare at them. Ash looked particularly uncomfortable with the display of skill which indicated that the Winchesters had done a bit more than what Bobby had suggested. And so, they decided to spend time doing other things with which they weren't entirely familiar to dissuade the others' perspectives in regards to them.

Sam and Dean thus parted ways, the former joining Ash in testing his knowledge whereas the other decided to test his aim.

Dean wasn't much of an archer and though he did have some considerable degree of skill in the domain, he was particularly good at handling firearms. He was a tad disappointed to find that no such weapon was available for the training but assumed it was to avoid a sort of rebellion. And so he settled with picking up a bow and arrows and aiming at the target across the room. Some eyes were still on him what with the sparring match that had taken place moments ago and so pressure was rising.

He shot his first arrow, reaching the target but puncturing no lethal point. To Dean, this meant his archery skills were a tad rusty while, to the others, it meant Dean wasn't a particularly talented bowman. The ones attentively watching him slowly dissipated, concentrating on themselves. Dean sighed contently at the lifted weight and continued to practice, emitting frustrated sounds whenever he missed his mark.

"The problem's your back." Said a voice, jolting Dean out of his concentration. His eyes darted towards the guy who spoke and he felt rather troubled to see one of the volunteers from the Capitol standing next to him. It was the shorter and, most likely, youngest out of the two. He had short brown hair, blue eyes and pale skin. He was so delicate-looking and seemingly fragile that Dean thought he looked wrong in their given environment. "Castiel." He finally added.

"Dean." Dean replied shortly.

Castiel took the response as a permission to further assist Dean with what kept him from shooting straight. He placed a gentle hand on his lower back and helped him straighten his posture and adjust his arms. "Try it now." He said softly.

Dean did as was told and was surprised when the arrow shot the dummy square in the face. He grinned proudly and looked back at Castiel, "Thanks, man." He said, "How did you know?"

"Logic." Castiel shrugged and pointed at Dean's previous arrows, "Your aim was generally off by a bit and since balance and eye coordination is a big part of shooting straight – excluding the wind factor in this case because there is none – the only logical problem would have been your eyesight or your posture. Your back was slightly curved forward so I assumed if you'd fix that, everything would be fine. I suppose I was right."

"Wow." Dean whistled, impressed by Castiel's knowledge. "So you must be really into archery."

"Not at all." Castiel said, "I've never done such a sport before and have only seen people practice it very few times. I've merely learned how it functioned moments ago upon watching you shoot."

"Really?" Dean asked, unconvinced. He knew some people could be geniuses but the odds Castiel was one of them seemed a bit too small to be real. So he handed the bow and arrows to him and said: "Try it."

Castiel gladly took them, accepting the challenge and took Dean's spot facing the dummy. He placed his arrow and fired his shot in a second, piercing the arrow Dean had shot and splitting it into two perfect halves. He then handed the weapon back to Dean who stared in disbelief at what Castiel had accomplished.

"Unbelievable." He muttered and looked at Castiel, "There's no way you're going to have me believe you haven't been doing this all your life."

"I haven't." Castiel said honestly and he showed him his hands. They were unmarked and the skin seemed as fragile as that of a newborn's. "I've never done anything strenuous before."

"Then why—"

But Dean was quickly interrupted by Joanna who purposely stumbled over and fell on him. "Sorry." She said and faked embarrassment, "I'm such a klutz."

"Are you alright?" Castiel asked, helping Joanna steady herself.

"Yes." She said, genuinely surprised by the kindness shown. Whenever she had pulled the stunt with other tributes, they had immediately begun to yell at her, "Thank you."

"Is there anything you need?" Castiel continued.

Joanna, still taken aback, took a moment to find her words and respond. "W-well…I…I wanted to try archery…" she stuttered, "If you don't mind."

Castiel smiled softly, "Not at all." He said and looked at Dean, "Unless you—"

"No, it's fine." Dean assured.

And thus the three practiced archery together for some time, Joanna keeping up her charade but nonetheless exhausted by it.

In the meantime, Sam had joined Ash to test his knowledge and memory. Whatever he failed at during the test, he would concentrate on learning once they returned back to the apartment. Ash quickly finished up his round and briefed Sam on how the machine worked before leaving him to it. And so he began. Part of using the machine was to test how quickly he could identify what was shown to him and Sam excelled generally well. The other part was identifying the properties of plants and animals – something Sam had a bit more difficulty with.

"Ha!" Someone standing behind him laughed when he machine buzzed, informing him of having chosen the wrong answer. Sam looked back with a glare and suddenly lighten up with curiosity upon noticing the golden eyed Capitol volunteer. "If you keep that up, you'll get yourself killed."

Sam's glare returned and he looked away as the other approached and stood next to him.

"I have to admit that I'm pretty impressed with what you do know." He said, "This machine's a bit bogus. It thinks everything is white or black when most of it is really grey. Anyways, you weren't wrong when you said Ragweed has healing properties, you just wouldn't have the time to use it as such in the arena. Unless you wanted to wash your mouth or treat ulcers."

"So I'm guessing you're an expert in this sort of thing." Sam said bitterly.

"Sure." He agreed nonchalantly, "When your life is as dull as mine, you tend to read as many books as you can to veil the boredom a bit. One of my brothers, Metatron, has an impossible collection of books."

"You have another brother?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah, why?" the other returned, not understanding Sam's wonder.

"I've never really seen a family with more than two kids." Sam admitted.

"Things are different in the Capitol." The golden eyed tribute explained, "I have so many brothers and sisters I don't even remember all their names."

"Then why did you volunteer for the Games?" Sam asked, "Family is important, isn't it?"

"Right you are bucko!" He grinned and slapped Sam's back playfully, "And it's for that same reason I'm here with the rest of you. I wasn't going to let my little bro go all alone."

Sam nodded at the declaration, finding a certain degree of respect for the Capitol volunteer. "Gabriel, by the way." The other said before Sam could introduce himself.

"Sam." He responded and shook hands with Gabriel.

By the time the first training session had come to an end, Sam and Dean had both spent a considerable amount of time with the volunteers of the Capitol and it hadn't gone unnoticed. As they left, they noticed the nasty gazes of other tributes lingering on them while they parted ways. They later received a lengthy lecture from Bobby in regards to how idiotic it had been of them to indulge with those two. There were repercussions to their actions that were already in motion and it was now far too late to stop them. The four of them would then have to be ready to deal with virtually whatever was hurled their way.


	6. Propositions

"Crowley." A rather short man with a mischievous air to him introduced himself as he extended his hand to Sam and Dean. "Pleasure."

The Winchester brothers exchanged perplexed gazes before slowly accepting his friendly gesture and returning it. "Sam and Dean." Dean said for the both of them, "From district 7."

"District 3." Crowley said, "Look boys, I'm going to cut to the chase here, I need your help."

"Okay…" Sam responded slowly, "Why?"

"Look at me." Crowley said, irritated, as he gestured his body. He was short and slightly overweight which suggested he didn't work much or at all. "I'm in a bloody mess here."

"You want to make an alliance then?" Dean concluded.

"Yes." Crowley said gritting his teeth, he seemed as though he wanted to say something snarky or sarcastic but refrained from doing so.

"Would it include your sister?" Sam asked.

Before commencing the training session of the day, Sam remembered seeing the two bickering and on the verge of ending the other. He wasn't exactly sure he wanted to form an alliance with a pair of siblings who failed to cooperate efficiently together.

"Seven Hells no." Crowley all but laughed, "That bitch is the reason I'm here. Do we look like a happy family?"

"No…" Sam answered slowly.

"Exactly." Crowley huffed, "She _volunteered_ for the Games the second she learned one of our many siblings would be forced to join her. Seeing as she hates _me_ the most, she saw this as the perfect opportunity to have me killed and get rich in the process."

"So you're saying you need us to defend you?" Dean said, glancing at Sam with a smirk, "If you're useless at fighting and need people like us to watch out for you, you'll be screwed when we're the last ones left. There will only be one victor or two if they're blood related."

"I know the bloody rules." Crowley hissed, "And I never said I was useless or handicapped! I am just fully aware that my chances of survival are significantly low if I don't pair up with others."

"Why did you decide to pick us out of everyone here?" Sam asked.

"Have you looked at yourselves in a mirror lately?" Crowley returned the question, "You're both a walking stack of muscles. Bronze is essential as much as brains are and seeing as neither of you are complete dolts either, it makes you perfect."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to team up with the others from your district?" Sam continued and was taken aback when Crowley looked at him as though he had said something entirely idiotic.

"You're kidding right?" he then pointed at two rather thin and scrawny boys training with boxing gloves. "That's them, Kevin and Garth Tran."

"They're _related_?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Not by blood," Crowley explained, "Story goes Garth – the scrawniest of the two – was adopted into the Tran family. Don't really know why, didn't care to listen. The point is that Abaddon, my sister, is planning on tanking this thing alone and that the other options from my districts can barely lift a twig let alone destroy an adversary."

Crowley did make a good point but, at the current moment, Sam was more ready to form an alliance with Kevin and Garth. There was simply something about Crowley that inspired distrust and reminded the younger Winchester of Bobby's warning. No doubt the man from district 3 was a genius and exceptionally clever, his reasoning demonstrated just that, but Sam felt as though there was something more. Physically, Crowley was at a disadvantage against them and, if they were ever to be the last few survivors of the Games, he would be killed within seconds. Logically, Crowley would only seek an alliance with people who ever evidently much stronger than he if he had a plan up his sleeve to turn the tides.

"We're going to have to consult the others of our group first." Sam said, "We'll give you an answer tomorrow."

"Fair enough." Crowley nodded, "However, let me give you a bit of a heads up as good faith, some of the tributes will be hunting you first."

Sam and Dean stiffened, "Why? How do you know?"

"You made friendly with the Capitol volunteers yesterday." Crowley stated, "Dumb move on your part. I would have expected you to have noticed the vicious way the others have been eyeing the two of them since they were first introduced. Nonetheless, my suggestion is for you to avoid contact with them from here on out and refuse whatever deal they may offer you."

"How do you know they'll offer us a deal?" Dean asked.

"They've taken a shining to the both of you." He said as he began to walk away, "It's likely you're their best chance of survival as well. Anyhow, don't keep me waiting too long."

Unnerved by the comment, Sam and Dean spent most of the rest of the training session keeping an eye on the other tributes around them. They found that some of them did indeed tend to look at them with nothing but hate in their eyes. Nonetheless, when they finally separated to train individually and were approached by their respective Capitol volunteers, neither brother found the motivation to send them away. Perhaps it was the morals on which they were raised or pity for their inevitable fate, but upon being addressed to, the Winchesters decided to put to use their father's saying: "Whatever happens, happens".

"You seem unnerved by my presence." Castiel noted as he stood by Dean just before he was about to fire an arrow at a dummy for practice again. "Is it because of the others?"

Dean withdrew his shot and lowered his bow as he turned to face the Capitol volunteer, "A bit." He admitted. "Apparently, people are gunning for me and my brother now because they noticed us speaking and training together."

"Would you prefer I leave?" Castiel suggested.

The offer surprised Dean and, for a moment, he had lost sense of his words. As he considered the option however, he found that every rational sense within him screamed for him to answer yes but his mouth wouldn't let the word escape. He struggled for a minute before sighing in defeat to his own kindness.

"No, you can stay if you want." He said.

"You're kind." Castiel noted more than complimented, "It's strange."

"You're welcome." Dean said sarcastically as he pivoted back to face the dummy.

"I didn't mean to offend you." Castiel apologized, "I just meant that such kindness could get you killed. None of the other tributes will speak to me due to my affiliation but I suppose it makes sense. To them I will be a means to enact their anger and rage in the near future."

Castiel spoke true and it saddened Dean. And yet, a more pressing question found its way in his mind. So first he shot the arrow he had been holding, observing as it hit its mark perfectly and turned back to Castiel. "Why did you volunteer?" he asked, "I didn't get a chance to finish my question the other day because Jo bumped in but now… I mean, you did know this would happen, didn't you? Your death is basically sealed."

"I know." Castiel said quietly.

"Then why?" Dean asked, and he was surprised with himself because he sounded angry, "Why would you throw your life away like that especially since you had it good?"

"You and I have rather different definitions of a good life." Castiel smiled bitterly. "It's true that I lived in wealth like everyone else in the Capitol, but abundant riches don't necessarily mean a perfect life."

"It's a good start." Dean shrugged and he fired another arrow to release some tension. "So you're going through this pre-adulthood drama then? The tantrum you're throwing is going to have some permanent scars."

"I know. I will accept the consequences readily." Castiel affirmed.

"So then why are you doing this?" Dean asked, returning to his initial question.

Castiel remained quiet for a while, giving Dean the amount of time necessary to shoot two more arrows in each eye. "Justice." He finally answered.

"Justice?" Dean repeated, "What do you mean?"

"I would like to explain further," Castiel said but looked around, "However I would rather not suffer the consequences of curious ears overhearing."

"Fair enough." Dean nodded after a moment and passed his bow to Castiel.

Not many more words were exchanged between the two as time went by. Dean noticed that Castiel was strangely concentrated when firing his shots and that his movements seemed a bit angry, betraying his usual neutral and stoic personality.

During said time, Gabriel had yet again approached Sam and was, once more, giving him constructive criticism. He had just emerged from the simulator, having destroyed all the targets but two that had been in his blind spot and were only noticed when it was far too late.

"You don't move enough." Gabriel said.

"What are you talking about?" Sam nearly growled.

"I mean you're too relaxed." Gabriel specified, "When you were standing on the platform in the center and waiting for the targets to show, you were perfectly still. You need to move around a bit, stay jittery and on your toes. It's faster to shift positions when you're already in motion rather than not. Try it again and you'll see for yourself."

So Sam did as he was told and, sure enough, he had managed to destroy all of the targets on his second try and was greeted with Gabriel's claps.

"Told you." He said with a snarky grin.

Sam couldn't resist returning the smile, "Okay, fine." He said, rolling his eyes, "Why don't you have a go at it?"

"Don't need to." Gabriel declared, "I had plenty of practice back home what with all of my crazy siblings."

Sam snickered but immediately tried to discard any proof of enjoying Gabriel's company. He knew certain eyes were resting upon them and he didn't want to draw more hatred onto them.

"Scared?" Gabriel noticed.

"No." Sam lied through his teeth.

"Of course." Gabriel smirked; he didn't buy it for a minute. "Look at it this way Sammy, they'll be out for your blood eventually whether it be because you spoke to me and my brother or some other reason. We're all enemies here."

"Don't call me Sammy." Sam said immediately, only his family got to call him by that nickname, "And I already know that."

"Then talking to me shouldn't bother you." Gabriel grinned, "Besides, even if you did start ignoring me, I'd still bother you. You're literally the only fun one around here. Well, you and that blonde girl, Jo, but she does her best to avoid me."

Just as he mentioned Joanna, a large rattling noise of things falling over caught their attention. Joanna had purposely fallen on the equipment hanging on the wall, causing a mess and angering a lot of tributes. A few of them called her useless or a klutz before moving on whereas the rest eyed her hungrily. However, their savage gazes disappeared immediately once Dean and Castiel helped her up.

"I got to give it to her," Gabriel said with a laugh, "Playing dumb and innocent was a clever idea."

"What makes you think she's acting?" Sam asked stiffly.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret," Gabriel said with an amused tone as he leaned towards the younger Winchester, "I'm not as dumb as the rest of them. I can tell she's smart and strong."

Sam didn't say anything. He looked at Joanna again, walking towards her brother and leaving Dean and Castiel to their archery training.

"You made an alliance with them." Gabriel noted.

"Yeah." Sam confirmed, "Are you going to tell everyone she's just acting?"

"I'm not that mean." Gabriel laughed. "Nah, I'll keep it to myself instead."

"Thank you." Sam said, sighing in relief.

"Is Crowley in the alliance too?" Gabriel asked, his tone seemed a tad graver.

"Crowley?" Sam repeated absently.

"Yeah, the short and chubby guy who wants his sister dead." Gabriel specified, "Honestly, I can't blame him. Abaddon seems like a big piece of work."

"He talked to us about wanting to join forces," Sam admitted, "But we have to talk to the others before making a final decision."

Gabriel nodded, remaining quiet for a moment. Sam could tell he was debating whether to speak his mind or not. "Don't trust him." He finally said.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Being a volunteer from the Capitol has its perks." Gabriel explained, "I managed to get some info on all of the tributes. Crowley's from a family of liars and manipulators, don't trust a word that come out of his mouth or his sister's."

"He seemed to have valuable reasons to want to join us." Sam argued.

"Maybe he does, that doesn't mean what I said is any less true." Gabriel warned.

"And why should I trust you over him?" Sam asked, a bit irritated, "What makes you more trustworthy?"

"My charming looks?" Gabriel offered with a laugh and a wink. "I don't have a reason to lie to you."

"That's not a good enough explanation." Sam stated, folding his arms above his chest.

"Is "I'm rooting for you" better?" Gabriel asked rhetorically. "Look, I'm not expecting to make it out of this alive and, chances are, neither is my little brother."

"Okay…" Sam said slowly. "What's your point?"

"Well, if someone has to win," Gabriel continued, "I want it to be you."

Sam stared at Gabriel dumbly. No matter what the Capitol volunteer found as an excuse to help him survive the Hunger Games, it seemed like absolute folly to Sam. Gabriel accepted the inevitability of death too easily and he had no reason to encourage and want to see Sam prevail, thus there had to be some sort of catch. And yet, Sam saw nothing but honesty in his delicate features. No part of Gabriel seemed mildly deceitful but such a saint in the midst of Hell was too good to be true. It had to be.

"You don't have to believe me." Gabriel said after a moment, "Just take my word for it."

"I can't do that." Sam finally said, shaking his head and clearing the confusion, "If I take your word for it and it turns out you're lying, it can cost me and my brother's life."

"Smart kid." Gabriel smirked and patted Sam's shoulder.

Their conversation ended as such, Gabriel excusing himself flimsily thus leaving Sam to think about everything. Once the day was over and he was reunited with Ash, Joanna and Dean, they talked about their encounters. However, before either Winchester could utter a sound, Ash and Joanna exploded with frustration in regards to their contacts with the Capitol volunteers. The two decided to listen to them patiently because, after all, they had every right to be angry with them. Once they finished, Sam was the first to speak.

"I get you're scared of the crap this could provoke," He said, "But the others were eventually going to find some other reason to want us dead and come after us. I mean, we are standing in their way of returning to their families."

"Still," Joanna snapped, "We don't need them coming after our asses immediately."

"If we can get them to attack themselves and ignore us for a bit," Ash continued, "we'll be better off. Talking to them will fuck up our chances."

"Look, whatever happens, happens." Dean said with a sigh. "We'll find some way to deal with everything when the time comes."

"Besides, there's something else we need to talk about now." Sam interjected, "Crowley."

"Crowley?" Ash repeated.

"The short guy with the crazy sister?" Joanna asked.

"Yeah, he wants to join us." Sam confirmed.

"Including his sister?" Ash asked, worried.

"No, he hates his sister." Dean said, "Apparently, his sister wants him dead and vice versa. He figured his best chances of survival were with us."

"He's probably right." Ash mused, "I mean, I know it's just the second day of training, but the other tributes haven't really spoken to each other yet so it's safe to assume no other alliances have been made. Either way, we also have the best team so far: two bronzes, a wild card and a brain."

"Are you calling us stupid?" Joanna hissed.

"Let's not get into that right now." Sam suggested with a nervous laugh, "Anyway, what do you guys think?"

"I don't know," Ash admitted, "I mean, I don't have a problem with him but if his sister wants him dead than she'll be coming after us just as much as him."

"I've seen Abaddon train." Joanna said, "She's vicious and extremely good. Having her on our tail could be a pretty big problem."

"What about you two?" Ash asked, turning towards the brothers.

"I don't like him." Dean declared flatly. "I mean, there's something about him that pisses me off and bothers me."

"Gabriel told me not to trust him." Sam said after a moment. "Apparently, because he's from the Capitol, he was able to get some info on everyone and he said that Crowley came from a family of liars."

"That's great," Ash dismissed almost immediately, "Now what do _you_ think?"

"W-well," Sam stuttered with a small blush, taken aback by Ash's sudden bluntness, "I agree with Dean for the most part. There's something shady about him and his reasoning for wanting to join us."

"What do you mean?" Joanna asked, "He wants protection against his crazy sister."

"Yeah but think about it for a second," Sam insisted, "We're clearly stronger than he is. He's relying on his intelligence so it's only logical to assume he thought everything through carefully before approaching us. He had a lot of people to choose from to form his alliance but he chose _us_. To me, it seems that he's the type of person Bobby warned us against."

"Good enough for me." Joanna declared. "My only problem was that he didn't tell you how he could contribute to our team. I don't want to drag around dead weight."

"It's settled then." Ash concluded, "Crowley has been formerly rejected."

"Now about those Capitol volunteers…" Joanna started to the confusion of both Winchester brothers.

"What about them?" Dean asked.

"Didn't they ask you to join us?" Joanna asked, "One of them apparently gave Sam some info on Crowley and I doubt it came free."

"Actually," Sam said, and he sounded completely surprised upon realizing it, "He didn't ask for anything in return."

"Cas didn't mention wanting anything either." Dean said, "Actually, he wasn't even hinting to it."

"That's strange." Joanna mumbled almost to herself, "I see them staring at you too often. They barely train, Castiel only doing so when joining Dean whereas Gabriel does nothing."

"They stare at us?" Dean asked, "That's a bit weird."

"A lot of people stare at the two of you." Joanna said, "Especially when you spar. You two fight very well but the two from the Capitol stare more than the others. They don't really look at anyone else."

"Say they do ask to join our alliance at some point," Sam hypothesised, "What should we do?"

"Reject them immediately." Joanna said.

"Hold on." Ash paused and thought, "If Gabriel's information is accurate then having them on our side could be extremely beneficial regardless of their status."

"I suppose we cross that bridge once we get there, then?" Dean concluded.

The others nodded before finally dispersing to do whatever suited them around the apartment. Ash went to talk to Bobby, Joanna went to her room and Sam and Dean remained on the couches of the living room, staring out the large windows. The contemplated the sight of the Capitol as they always did, marvelling at the clean and simple architecture as well as the buzzing life in the streets. Why did Hell have to look so much like Heaven?


	7. Allies

The following day they announced that Crowley had been refused. A part of them wanted to explain their reasoning behind the decision but they eventually decided against it, figuring it would make no difference to him. Crowley, on the other hand, was rather unresponsive. He simply nodded and excused himself, most likely trying to think of a different plan to put in action. Nonetheless, the good conscious in the tributes of district 7 began to make them feel guilty. If everything had been an option, they would have all chosen to kill no one, but life wasn't that kind and so they had to move on.

Days passed and the only tributes that ever approached Sam and Dean were Castiel and Gabriel. The brothers from the Capitol never exchanged conversation partners, something Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean thought was strange. When asked about it, both replied bluntly that a deal had been made allowing each brother to speak to the one that interested them the most. And so Sam and Dean were left confused on if they should feel flattered or insulted.

A week eventually passed rather quickly and the anxiety level in each of the tributes selected for the hundredth Hunger Games became more palpable. The others had finally begun speaking amongst themselves and forming other alliances. Abaddon, Crowley's insane sister, began pestering and blatantly challenging anyone and everyone who had the balls to come find her in the arena. At some point, she had approached Sam and Dean while they were sparring and began taunting them in multiple ways. Though they were heavily aggravated, they focused on ignoring her and the lack of reaction eventually lead Abaddon away.

The only other person who dared wander to the Winchester brothers as they were sparring was Garth. Crowley had briefly mentioned him before and the brothers had seen him a few times, training with his adoptive brother Kevin, but thought nothing much of him. However, when Garth walked to them, he had been rather violent and aggressive in a way that seemed forced, as though he was trying to prove himself to the others. He began by shoving Sam, causing him to trip on his own feet and fall over.

"Hey!" Sam snapped, jumping back on his feet quickly, "Watch it!"

"Y-you watch it!" Garth stuttered back almost immediately.

Sam and Dean exchanged perplexed stares and soon the other tributes halted whatever they did to watch the scene unfold. "What's your problem?" Sam asked.

"I-I want to spar!" Garth declared, his voice cracking causing a few of the tributes to laugh.

Kevin, on the other hand, buried his face in his hand, regrettably watching his brother dig himself into a deep hole.

"O-okay…" Sam said slowly and then looked around the mat awkwardly, "Well, there's a lot of space so just—"

"No! I want to spar against one of you!" Garth interrupted, flushing in anger and humiliation.

"Uhh…" Sam looked at his older brother, lost on what he should do. "Okay, I guess?"

Garth flinched at the answer, seemingly very surprised but soon pushed the emotion away as he grabbed the dulled weapon Dean had been holding. Dean glared at him, wanting to put him in his place but let it slide. He understood just as well as Sam that Garth had to prove himself to the others for the sake of survival. As it was, he was the lankiest of them all, even more than Lilith who was considerably younger than he. Thus Dean moved from the mat and watched the match from the sidelines, quickly joined by Castiel, Gabriel, Ash and Joanna.

"He's making a fool out of himself." Joanna whispered to Dean.

"If you think he looks silly now, wait 'til his ass gets beaten bloody." Gabriel snorted.

There was initially a silent standoff. Garth glared at Sam and held his stare whereas Sam only appeared confused, unable to take the challenge seriously what with the suddenness of it. Finally, Garth was the first to attack. He charged Sam with a war-cry and lifted his weapon high above his head. The appropriate response to such an attack was quickly evident to Sam. He pivoted aside to avoid the blow and smashed his weapon into Garth's chest which he had let wide open with the wideness of his attack.

The smaller man fell to the ground rather dramatically, clutching his weapon and trembling as the tributes began to snicker gradually louder. Sam had thought it to be the end of their battle but was quickly surprised when Garth shouted again, clutching his weapon tightly and tried to swing it once more at Sam. Regardless of the surprise, Sam was able to grasp the weapon with his hand effectively blocking it and impairing Garth who struggled with all his might to release the weapon.

The laughs grew louder and bolder, some of the tributes even began shouting obscenities at Garth. Sam winced for him, pitying the response of the former's desperate attempt to make a name for himself before the beginning of the Games.

"This is painful to watch." Dean hissed, frowning deeply.

"I admire his perseverance." Castiel said. "Another in his place would have abandoned long ago out of shame but he keeps coming back."

"That attitude isn't what'll keep him alive in the Games." Ash noted.

Allowing Garth yet another chance, Sam shoved the weapon away and took a step back. He allowed the other to regain his balance, choose a stance and think of another way he would attack. Rather than humiliate Garth all the more by keeping his weapon low, Sam also decided to give him the honour of pretending to take him seriously which, in turn, boosted his confidence. Again, Garth released another cry as he swung his weapon horizontally only to have it blocked by Sam. However, not one to be discouraged as it was previously demonstrated, Garth continued swinging at Sam wildly and frantically. He had stopped trying to strategize and was flailing more than anything in the hopes of landing one solid blow.

Sam eventually lost the patience he had left and promptly disarmed Garth once he had had enough. And when Garth dashed to the fallen weapon in the hopes of resuming his fight, Sam stepped on it and aimed the tip of his weapon to Garth's neck. "Dead." He finally said.

The tributes laughed louder and clapped, yelling insults at Garth, some of them even threatening to come after him first once the Games would start. The weight of the humiliation and defeat finally got to him as the crowd dispersed and Garth fell to his knees, crying. Sam stared at him silently for a moment, wondering how he should respond. He eventually settled on lowering to a knee as to match the other's level when appealing to him.

"You've never been in a fight before, have you?" Sam guessed.

Garth sniffled, rubbing the tears away before glaring at him, "I _have_!" he conquered.

"But you've never won." Sam stated. Garth's eyes widened and he bit his lip as he looked away. There was silence for a moment before Sam stood and removed his foot from the weapon on the floor. "Get up." He told Garth. Garth stared at Sam and awe for a short instant but quickly got to his feet, weapon in hand. "Get into a fighting stance."

Garth did as told, holding the weapon with both of his hands and standing as straight as a stick. Sam shook his head and proceed to correct his stance. "Spread your feet apart." He told him and Garth obeyed. Sam eventually had to kick his legs apart further, nearly causing the other to fall over, "Better," he continued as Garth regained his balance, "Now flex your knees a bit—not too much, good." He stood still and smiled at Garth as he explained: "This is called the horse-stance. It's rather basic but nonetheless useful. Its strong point is that it's nearly impossible to be pushed over if shoved from the side." As to further demonstrate his point, Sam pushed at Garth from his side, "However, this means that it's weak from the front and the back."

Sam was about to push Garth from the back with the goal of having fall over but, just as he was about to do so, the latter changed his position so as to resist the attempt. Sam smiled, "Good, you catch on fast."

Garth grinned proudly but quickly forced it away, wanting to remain serious and to impose himself as a threat to Sam and the others. Sam rolled his eyes and walked around him so as they were now face to face. "Alright, now try attacking me." Sam told him.

"Don't shout." Gabriel advised from the sideline, "You don't want your opponent to hear you coming especially if you're trying to surprise him."

Garth nodded and kept his mouth shut as he raised his weapon high above his head yet again and tried to hit Sam. The blow was effectively blocked and Sam hit him yet again in the chest since it was wide open.

"Your attacks are too wide." Dean said before Sam had the chance. "You're leaving vital areas unguarded."

"Try to keep your arms close to home." Sam said, "You never know when you'll need them to protect yourself."

Garth nodded and attacked again. This time he was far better, though he still left himself relatively unguarded, he had taken note of the flaws in his rounds. Sam blocked the blow as he always did and pointed the tip of his weapon yet again at an uncovered vital area.

"Better." Sam said with a smile, "But not yet perfect. A thing you'll want to do is use the simulator to practice even more. When fighting focus on your opponent's eyes, you'll have a better chance of anticipating what they'll do next and always stay on your toes, it's easier to move around then."

"Aww, he learned that from me!" Gabriel exclaimed with a laugh, causing Sam to blush.

"Thanks…" Garth finally said as Dean and the others wandered onto the mat. He handed the sparing stick back to Dean, "But… why did you help me?"

"You were sad to watch." Dean said bluntly.

"Ditto." Gabriel agreed while Castiel simply nodded.

"It was the right thing to do." Sam answered, ignoring the others' comments. "I knew what you were trying to do and so I decided to just help you out a bit."

"But it would have been easier for you to just annihilate me." Garth argued.

"To be fair," Gabriel chimed, "You still did get your ass kicked."

Castiel hit him, signaling him to be quiet.

"Everyone here's just so strong." Garth sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground pathetically, "I mean, it was bad luck enough that Kevin got picked but he's double screwed because he's stuck with me."

Kevin lowered his head as well, remaining silent as Garth continued.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if they hadn't taken me in way back then." He mumbled pathetically.

"That's in the past now and there's nothing you can do about it, buddy." Ash said, "Don't beat yourself up for it."

Garth opened his mouth but quickly closed it and glared at the floor. There was silence among the group for a moment before Kevin finally spoke up. "Anyway," he said breaking the muteness, "Sorry he bothered you. He won't do it again, promise."

The two were just about to leave when Joanna stopped them, "Wait—" they paused and she gathered Ash, Sam and Dean into a mini circle so as they could talk in mild privacy rapidly. "Can we take 'em in?"

"Why would we do that?" Ash said, "I don't see how they could be useful to us."

"Neither do I." Dean seconded however added: "…but I kind of feel bad for them. I mean, what's the worse they can do?"

"It wouldn't hurt to widen our group." Sam stated.

"I don't know…" Ash mumbled, unconvinced, "Let's ask them a few questions first, to figure out if they'll be useful to us or not."

They broke their small conference to face Garth and Kevin. "So what exactly will the two of you be relying on during the Games?" Dean asked.

The two seemed unsure whether to answer, "Well…" Garth said, "Kevin's a genius so I was planning on following his lead."

"How smart are you?" Ash asked.

"Well I beat the knowledge machine." Kevin admitted which indicated that his intelligence surpassed that of Ash and Sam's.

"Okay and Garth was supposed to be the bronze then?" Sam concluded.

"Something like that…" Garth mumbled shamefully.

The four tributes from district 7 exchanged looks before silently coming to the same conclusion and nodding. "Would you like to join our group?" Joanna asked.

Kevin and Garth seemed unsure. "Thanks but no." Kevin refused, "It's not because of you or anything but you guys teamed up with the Capitols and that's way too much trouble than we're ready to handle."

"Rude." Gabriel commented immediately.

"You misunderstand." Castiel said, "We're not in an alliance with anyone."

"But we see you talking all the time." Kevin stated.

"'Cause no one else wants to talk to us." Gabriel indicated.

"If that's true then we're in." Kevin concluded, "We need the muscle support."

And so, as the days continued to pass by, Sam, Dean and Garth trained on the mat and helped the newest addition to their alliance better himself. Gabriel and Castiel maintained their distances a bit more than usual, understanding that Kevin and Garth were very adamant about not wanting to associate with them. Thus everything progressed smoothly until their inevitable encounter with Gordon Walker.

From what Joanna had been reporting every time they returned to the apartment, Gordon Walker had been staring at Sam and Dean just as much as Gabriel and Castiel. The sincere hate he felt for the Winchester brothers, though unfounded, was palpable and partially intimidating. According to some of the information Gabriel readily provided, Gordon Walker and his brother, Kubrick, weren't related by blood or name. Apparently they were nothing more than blood brothers and Kubrick had jumped at the opportunity of sparing Gordon's blood-related sister the penalty of entering the Games, especially at her young age.

They were a forced to be reckoned with, a fact made all the more evident when watching the two spar. Kubrick himself was nothing exceptional when it came to fighting. He was good, better than some, but generally average in skill. Gordon, on the other, was as vicious and violent as Abaddon, maybe more so. His actions were nothing short of mad and frightening. And so, when Sam bumped into Gordon accidentally when sparring with Garth and Dean, he felt nothing short of fear upon witnessing and feeling the consequential glare.

"Watch it, fucker." He snapped, shoving Sam roughly.

Dean immediately intervened, "Hey ass hole!" he growled, shoving Gordon back, "It was an accident so fuck off."

"Yeah!" Garth chimed.

"Shut the fuck up, you twig." Gordon hissed.

"Dean, let's just move—" Sam tried suggesting as to avoid conflict, but Gordon seemed adamant in starting something.

"That's it, run like a little bitch." He snarled.

"Go fuck yourself." Sam snapped, unable to resist the rage he felt within him.

The situation quickly began escalating from that point on, the Winchester brothers plus Garth ready to rip out Gordon and Kubrick's throat. The guards stationed near the exit of the training grounds were quickly forced to intervene and separate them, demanding they calm down and remain on separate sides of the room for the rest of the day. They obeyed but the ill feeling and rage remained and Sam and Dean knew that Gordon was one of the many tributes gunning for them right off the bat.


	8. Enemies

As the week drew to a close and things began to take a serious turn, Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean began to find themselves in a more serious situation. The other tributes became gradually more aggressive towards them and nearly jumped at every opportunity to attack Castiel and Gabriel whether it be verbally or physically. The guards stationed in the training room multiplied by the hour – or so it seemed – and the tension was impossible tangible. Of course, district 7 and their allies found themselves subject to abuse as well seeing as Sam and Dean never stopped their regular contacts with the volunteers from the Capitol. Bobby yelled at them countless of times and Ash and Joanna repeatedly expressed the negative repercussions to be feared from their actions but the Winchester brothers could not be dissuaded and, eventually, the Harvelle siblings decided to fraternize with the two from the Capitol as well. Sam assumed that the both had just decided to give in, realizing that whether they indulged or not would change nothing of what would happen in the days to come. Kevin and Garth, on the other hand, refused to speak to Castiel or Gabriel no matter their comrade's reasoning.

As for the others, more alliances were made and advertised to the others. The first Sam and Dean caught wind of was the one Crowley had formed with Gordon and Kubrick Walker. They had initially assumed that Crowley had understood their reasoning and let everything slide, accepting and moving on, but they were deadly wrong. It was painfully obvious that Crowley was gunning for them as a means of revenge and had found the perfect weapons to achieve his goal. Though the tributes of district 7 had thought it impossible for Gordon and Kubrick to be able to cooperate with anyone other than themselves, they realised that, if united by a common goal, they would temporarily cast away their hostilities. Nonetheless, Sam still saw the alliance as a dumb move on Gordon and Kubrick's part. The Walkers most likely thought that Crowley would be easily dealt with once their common goal accomplished, underestimating the capabilities of his intelligence. This would most likely result in their demise – or so Sam theorised.

Nevertheless, more problems emerged once Dean accidentally entered a scuffle with Alistair and Meg Masters. No one was chiefly clear on the details of how the problem began but its core appeared to be between Alistair and Dean. Meg had seemingly entered for the fun of it. The two had managed to exchange blows, Alistair wounding Dean more than the latter had the other before Castiel intervened, pushing Alistair away and dragging Dean elsewhere. The guards in the room then hurried to maintain Alistair and were forced to sedate him before carry him out of the area, warning the others of the consequences of such an action's repetition.

"Saved by a unicorn." Meg had chuckled before she was shoved out of the room, "We'll be looking for you, Winchester."

Castiel had followed Dean to the infirmary where he was hastily treated. His wounds were rather petty, a bruised cheek and a cut on the lip, and would thus not be impaired when the Games would take place. Once they returned, Dean, as well as his comrades, were regarded in a new light. For the longest of times since the beginning of the two weeks, the Winchester brothers were generally regarded as pros, people not to mess with, but now that Alistair had managed to damage the toughest of them in a considerable manner, their mortality was basically advertised. This left Sam and Dean, specifically the latter, prey to many jests and testing jabs.

However, once the final day of training rolled by, the annoying pokes had taken an entirely new turn. The brothers had directly been challenged by multiple pairs, most wanting to prove themselves to the others and diminish the stature of the Winchesters. Sam and Dean were forced to engage in a fight with one of them, beating them rather severely before the guards dragged them apart. They had clearly enjoyed the show while it lasted – a fact that irritated the unbiased tributes.

Regardless, things had taken an unexpected turn when Sam was finally approached by Ruby. She was a tall woman, the same age as Sam, and she was utterly mesmerising. Sam had peered in her direction a handful of times during training. It was hard to not notice such a beauty moving so fluidly – albeit partially clumsily – when exercising her swings. Ruby seemed to prefer battling at close distances, often times wielding a knife while she destroyed targets in the simulator. By the end of most days, Ruby had been the one to sweat the most and the reason for such a thing seemed to be justified by the sibling that tagged along in her hellish journey: Lilith.

Lilith partially resembled Ruby. She shared her dark brown hair and snowy-white skin but her eyes were as blue as the sky on a warm summer day. Only seven years old and considerably smaller than all the other tributes, Lilith was the youngest person to ever attend the Hunger Games strictly because of the special rule of the year. She would be a weakness to Ruby more than anything which was painfully evident to everyone in the room. However, one thing that Sam could never understand was how the odd pair had ended up in the Games. Being from district 1, a career district notorious for its many successful volunteers, logic dated that Ruby had volunteered to enter. And yet, the thought of such a possibility seemed utterly absurd. Why would anyone involve such a young and innocent girl in such a savage event? Ruby wasn't stupid, or – at least, she didn't seem it.

And so Sam was impossibly surprised when Ruby approached him and neglected to want to form an alliance. She simply offered him a kind smile and a bottle of water as she introduced herself and made conversation.

"Having a hard time?" She stated more than asked.

"A bit." Sam admitted with a sheepish laugh; he hoped it would hide his fear. "We'll manage…I think."

"You won't have a choice if you want to win." Ruby said and offered a hand to help him to his feet.

Sam contemplated the gesture before finally acting upon it. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Lilith then joined them before the conversation could progress any further. "We're sorry they're bullying you." She said with the most innocent of expressions.

Sam smiled at her purity, "Don't worry about it." He said, "How are you doing?"

"Oh, well they haven't been bothering us much." Lilith said with a giggle, "But some of them give us nasty glances."

"I figured." Sam said slowly, his smile fading.

"Don't worry about us." Ruby said, "We'll manage. Worry about yourself."

"I know you will." Sam responded with a nod, "And thanks."

"You said that already." Ruby smirked as she lead her sister away.

Sam watched for a moment, quiet and contemplative. Ruby moved as swiftly as she did practicing her fighting. Her hips swayed elegantly and before long he found himself gaping at her.

"I'm getting jealous." Gabriel admitted, jolting Sam out of his own thoughts.

"W-what are you saying?" He stuttered.

"You're staring at her too much." Gabriel stated, "Did you ever think about how _I_ would feel?"

Sam frowned at him and smacked his shoulder, "Shut up." He shrugged as he walked away and Gabriel laughed, chasing after him.

"Oh come on." Gabriel chuckled, "Don't get mad at me now."

"I'm not mad." Sam muttered, marching around for something to do.

"Well you're not being the opposite of mad. Whatever that is." He chuckled.

Gabriel continued to follow Sam for a moment, eventually falling quiet. The second Sam had noticed, for he had been lost in his thoughts, he turned to ask him why he had suddenly become so quiet. It was a rather big surprise to Sam when he was shoved aside, Gabriel leaning closer to whisper.

"Don't trust her." He said quickly.

"Don't trust who? Ruby?" Sam asked, irritated by the proximity and suddenness.

"Yes," Gabriel nearly hissed, "She's bad news and you should know that. She's from district 1, no way she's going about this blindly."

"Blindly—how do you know that?" Sam retorted.

"I have ears, bucko." Gabriel reminded by gesturing them, "I was eavesdropping."

Sam didn't seem particularly impressed by the statement. "And?" he asked.

"And? What do you mean and?" Gabriel returned.

"Aren't you going to tell me about some file you were allowed to see?" Sam said with a hint of cynicism, "Isn't that your thing? You tell me not to trust someone and you give me some intel?"

"Not with that attitude." Gabriel snorted, "What's up?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Look," he said, "I really don't understand why you're _rooting_ for me or even willing to help me out. It generally doesn't make sense. Maybe you were right about Crowley or whatever but Ruby has a seven year old with her. I don't know why I should distrust her."

"You think just because she's lugging around a kid she's trustworthy?" Gabriel snickered. "I'm ready to bet that same kid you find so innocent has a trick up her sleeve."

"Her name is Lilith." Sam corrected bitterly, shoving Gabriel away.

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "Fine. Don't listen to me." He said, "But I'll find a way to be there when it explodes in your face so I can tell you I told you so."

"That won't happen." Sam fired back.

And that was the last thing he ever told Gabriel before the Hunger Games began. A part of Sam did feel guilty. Though starting a friendship with either of the Capitol volunteers had been something he desperately wanted to avoid, he couldn't deny that Gabriel grew on him and that a part of him did, indeed, consider him a friend. To some extent, at least. Nonetheless, Sam forced himself to shrug it off and moved on seeing as it was the only thing he could do at the given moment.

In contrast to the way things ended with Sam and Gabriel, Dean had ended on rather good terms with Castiel and made acquaintances with a tribute named Benny from district 11. They had parted with a friendly wave and later, once having returned to their quarters with Ash and Joanna, expressed his will of allowing Castiel and Gabriel join their alliance.

"They'll be useful, I know it." Dean insisted.

"I don't know…" Ash said slowly, "What are Kevin and Garth going to say? I mean, we can't decide this without consulting them—"

"We only took Kevin and Garth in because we felt bad for them." Joanna stated, "In the end, this isn't just about them, it's about survival and we have to do what we have to do. This being said, I'm not sure about Castiel and Gabriel."

"Why?" Dean asked, a bit surprised, "I thought you liked them."

"Well they're not as douchy as I thought they'd be." Joanna admitted. "But it's because of the others. You and Sam were getting pushed around all day because you spoke with them during the two weeks of training. They're coming after us because they think they'll be with us."

"It's a bit too late to correct them now." Dean stated.

"Sam." Ash said, startling him out of his thoughts, "What do you think?"

"Think about what?" Sam asked.

"You weren't listening?" Joanna asked with reproach.

"Not really." He admitted.

"Castiel and Gabriel joining us." Dean said before Joanna could yell at his little brother.

Sam nodded and thought about it for a brief moment before saying: "I think we should ask Ruby to join us."

"That doesn't answer the question, Sam." Dean stated, he sounded a tad irritated.

"Wait," Joanna intervened, "You mean Ruby, the chick from district 1, right?"

Sam nodded.

"Why would she want to join us?" Joanna asked.

"She didn't actually say," Sam said, "But I don't see the harm in helping her out."

"She's from a career district," Ash reminded, "Chances are she knows what she's doing and how to survive even with her kid sister."

"Okay well, maybe she can be useful to us." Sam tried.

"How?" Dean asked.

"She's been training for the Games her whole life," Sam noted, "And now she's in them with the less than favourable addition of her little sister. She is one of the rare people who don't want to kill us for having spoken to Castiel and Gabriel. We could use some extra grunt seeing as Garth doesn't add much."

There was a contemplative silence. Ash understood Sam's reasoning and seemed generally in accord whereas Joanna still seemed unsure. Sam thought that her feelings were probably something akin to female rivalry and thus dismissed it.

"What did Gabriel say?" Dean asked, breaking the silence. "He probably told you things about her, didn't he?"

"Actually," Sam said, sounding a bit bitterer than he should have, "He didn't."

"That's weird." Dean stated, "Why?"

"I don't know." Sam lied.

And Dean left it at that though it was painfully obvious that, for some reason, Sam was angry with Gabriel. The four tributes finished talking about strategy and alliances. They ultimately refuted the idea of Ruby and her little sister Lilith joining their team because of the tense conditions of their final day. Everyone was gunning for the Winchester brothers and a kind smile and seemingly honest intentions weren't enough to discard her as an ally. Sam seemed rather displeased by the results but didn't mention it.

Azazel and Bobby then entered the room and explained that the next day, they would wake up rather early for some formal business. The four would first have to display their strengths individually so as to be rated by some higher uppers and given an estimations of their survival skills. Joanna was told to get something as low as possible. Following the event, they would be given the clothes they were meant to wear for the televised interview later that night which would also be their opportunity to play for sponsors. Ash and Joanna were reminded what they would have to do to win whereas Bobby was still at a loss on how Sam and Dean should act.

"We can think of something on the spot." Dean suggested.

"That's pretty risky." Bobby warned.

"I don't think we have much of another choice." Dean noted and Bobby begrudgingly agreed.

Once the interview would be done, all of the tributes would be invited to a feast of the sort to mingle with possible sponsors and enjoy one last thing of life before being shepherded to the Hunger Games which were scheduled to begin some time in the afternoon. They were then dismissed to rest by Bobby but, as it was, none of them could. How could they? So Dean, this time, went to Sam's room and sat with him the entire night. They were in utter silence for the most part and quietly acknowledged the other's worry.

"What are we doing this for, Dean?" Sam asked as the sun began to rise. "Why are we trying to win this? We have no one to go home to."

"Don't talk like that Sammy." Dean said, his voice sounding a bit choked, "We have every right to win this."

"And so do the others." Sam stated, "Why should we be more deserving than the others? Sure we've gone through some serious shit but who's to say the others haven't?"

"Maybe you're right, but I made a promise to dad." Dean said after a moment, "When he was being dragged away he made me promise to protect you at all costs and I'm going to do that. We've had the worst luck in the world, Sam. Mom and dad died, we lived in poverty and worked out of our asses to get just a bit of scrap to get by and we didn't even live in the worse district. I thought our luck had changed long ago, when I never got reaped even though my name had probably been entered the most times. But I was obviously wrong 'cause look at us now. It's like life can't stop shoving us in the dirt and it needs to stop." Dean was trembling with so many emotions that had been stifled for the longest of times, "You're right Sammy, I don't know what the others have been through but I know what _we've_ been through. We never catch a break and, when we think we do, something worse just pops around the corner. We deserve more, don't we? We deserve something better."

"I don't think I'll be able to kill Ash and Joanna." Sam admitted after a while. "Maybe making an alliance was strategically but I think it was a bad idea. I like them, they're our friends and I don't want them to die. Least of all, I don't want to be the one to kill them. Hell, I don't even want Castiel and Gabriel to die." Sam began trembling as well but, unlike his brother, it was out of grief, "If we really do deserve something more in life, why does this have to be the way to get it?"

Dean wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulder and held him tight, resting his head above the other's. They stayed quiet for a moment, Sam sobbing whereas Dean stared at the brightening skyline with eyes as dead as his soul. "I don't know Sammy." Dean whispered, "But I'll figure something out. We'll be okay."

And for the first time since the beginning of their horrible situation, Sam didn't have the heart to believe Dean.


	9. Chuck

The day began early. Sam and Dean had thought they were the only ones to have neglected sleep but it had seemed that the Harvelle siblings had done the same. They changed into their training uniforms and were brought back to the area where their skills would be judged. Upon arriving, they were joined by Castiel and Gabriel – Kevin and Garth not having yet arrived. None of them were particularly chatty save for Gabriel who liked to make jokes in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't work for the most part, but it was also somewhat appreciated.

They were called in order of district, Castiel and Gabriel passing through first once everyone was organised. The tributes of district 7 had thought to see them against once they'd remerged but were disappointed. It had seemed that the tributes left through a different door once their examination was over and left immediately as to prepare themselves for the big parade later.

Kevin and Garth arrived in the nick of time, just as their names were called. Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean barely had the chance to say hello let alone ask them about letting the Capitol volunteers join when they were ushered away. As it was, they would have to decide on the technicalities in the arena if they didn't have the chance before or after the interview.

Finally, Ash and Joanna waved goodbye as their names were called and they were moved. The Winchester brothers were now left with the other tributes who didn't favour them particularly well. Nonetheless, they kept to themselves and avoided eye contact with any of them. Before they were also called and escorted away however, Dean saw a tribute silently threaten him by slide his thumb across his throat. They had severely ignored Bobby's advice and were now paying the price. Dean was no longer entirely sure if it was worth it.

Sam and Dean were moved to a smaller room with a bench. They were indicated to sit down and wait for further orders before they were left to their own devices. The door closed behind the escorts and the brothers were finally able to breathe easy, things having been so tense moments ago.

"So what are you going to show them?" Sam asked after a moment, resting his head against the wall behind him.

"I don't know." Dean admitted, imitating his brother. "I didn't think that far ahead."

"You should show off with a bow or something." Sam said. "I would have suggested a gun but chances are they won't give you one."

"I'd probably kill them all if they gave me one." Dean smirked bitterly.

"Then they'd kill _you_." Sam noted, shifting his position so as he was staring at his brother's face.

"Yeah well, I _am_ marching to my death." He replied but quickly silenced himself, "Sorry. I shouldn't talk like that."

Before Sam could forgive him or shrug off the uncomforting remark, a guard from the other end of the door appeared. "Sam Winchester." He said, opening the door a tad wider when Sam stood, "You're up first."

Sam nodded and looked back at his older brother. Dean stood and hugged him briefly before sending him off and watching with great pain as the door shut behind him. He hadn't realised until then how much he disliked being separated from Sam.

Sam was rather uncomfortable, feeling the loss of Dean as much as the other did for him. He timidly made his way to the center of the room, waiting as the men behind a glass wall stopped chatting and paid attention to him. They silently beckoned him to a wall filled with weapons and there he went, picking the one he favoured most: a knife. As it was, however, Sam failed to realise how he could impress the executives with such a weapon when there was no moving target available. He was rather surprised.

A yellow silhouette surged out of nowhere to his left, taking him by surprise. Sam reacted quickly and dodged the first swing, stabbing the knife into his chest. The silhouette immediately exploded into square-like sparkles which faded before hitting the ground. He didn't have much time to contemplate when another appeared and attacked him. As Sam continued to fight, he realised that the yellow things were, in fact, holograms. It had seemed that one of the many things the president brothers, Michael and Lucifer, had changed upon obtaining control of Panem was the demonstration of power.

Lucifer had, in truth, found it rather dull to leave it up to the confused tributes to think of a routine of the sort and display it to the administrators in charge. And so he solved the problem by merely forcing the tributes to work with a simulator and exhibit their deadliness by mimicking some of the old Hunger Games deceased participants. By the time the simulation ended, Sam was utterly exhausted but had somehow managed to defeat all of the holographic attackers. A part of his success was easily attributed to Gabriel who had helped him improve his skills considerably during the two weeks of training.

Sam pushed the thought out of his mind as, to his great surprise and shock, the men judging him behind the glass wall gave him a standing ovation. They were clearly impressed by his skill and, though Sam was indeed very proud, he feared that earning too high of a score would foil Bobby's advice of laying low. But then, Sam quickly reminded himself that that had already failed. Perhaps obtain a good grade would teach the other tributes to fear them and dissuade them from goading them any further.

Doors on the opposite end of the room and armed guards took away his weapon before sending him off. He found Ash, Joanna and Dean waiting for him in the room, greeting him with warm smiles. The sight of it was rather tender but broke Sam's heart. If only the circumstances had been different, if only he could have befriended the Harvelle siblings back in their district, if only he didn't have to know that they would soon die or be forced to kill them. There were so many ifs and Sam crumbled beneath the weight of them but he didn't let it show. He rather returned the offered smiles and followed them as Bobby and Azazel lead the way out.

"How many targets did you hit?" Ash asked, "I got about half of them, give or take."

"That's pretty good." Sam said, "I think I got all of them."

"Same." Dean said as well, "What about you, Jo?"

Joanna frowned deeply, folding her arms above her chest in a sulky gesture, "Like three or four." She practically hissed, "I wasn't allowed to hit anymore because of our strategy. Those fucktards kept laughing at me. It was horrible."

"Don't let yourself be bothered about that." Ash tried in a feeble attempt to cheer up his sister.

"That's easy for you to say." Joanna retorted, "You don't have to play the innocent, weak dumbass."

"Well, just think about the expressions they'll have when they see you're a total bad ass." Sam tried with a smile, "They'll feel so stupid for having underestimated you."

Joanna grinned, most likely imagining the expressions of a selected few already. "Right." She said but then her smile quickly faded and she seemed rather sad. Sam thought – hoped – it was for the same reason he felt gloomy and depressed.

They arrived at the apartment, Bobby telling them that their designer, Becky, had organised herself and would commence dressing them accordingly for the parade. Upon the mention of her name, the designer jumped out of the room she had selected for the fitting, seemingly far too gleeful even for someone from the Capitol.

"Oh my gosh!" She said with the biggest of smiles, "I'm so happy to meet you all! I've heard so much about you and I really couldn't wait to finally see you! You all look the way I imagined—" and then she looked at Dean and frowned, "Except for you."

"What's that supposed to mean—" but Becky had already moved on, squealing as she approached Sam.

"_You_ are absolutely _gorgeous_!" She declared bluntly, causing Sam to blush in embarrassment, "I can't wait to see you naked." She pressed her hands against his chest and began giggling creepily, "_You're so firm._"

"Okay." Bobby intervened, separating the two, "Focus."

Becky nodded but didn't hide her disappointed and yet longing expression as she continued, "Right, well," she said, "I'll start with the men and then me and Joanna will have loads of fun."

The clothes assembled for Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean were generally simple. During the previous Hunger Games, the tributes were typically paraded around in clown-ish designs and tried to beat their opponents with their flamboyancy. Back then, a tribute from some district – possibly 12 – had dared to set herself on fire to outshine the others. That year, there was a tribute less than any other year. Regardless, once Michael and Lucifer Angel had ascended to power, they had changed such a tradition. Lucifer had attacked the matter more than his elder brother who cared far less about the Games. He saw the parade as unnecessary and the things they wore as idiotic. Lucifer believed that only the victors of each Hunger Games deserved to wear the extravagances, otherwise freely given, since they had accomplished something worthy of such privileges. Hence, the tributes thus began to wear more simple and elegant attire bearing the colours of their district.

In the case of the tributes of district 7, their clothes reflected the forest from which most made their income. The men wore a chestnut sleeveless vest as well as a dark green dress shirt beneath and a silver tie along with a silver pair of dress pants. The sleeves of the dress shirt and the bottom of the vest had leaves and trees artistically stitched into the fabric with a silver thread. The fine details added into their otherwise rather normal and bland clothes were the only mark of creativity their designer, Becky, could add due to the enforced rule of simplicity.

However, due to the female tributes typically wearing dresses, Becky had a bit more creative flexibility with Joanna. The only girl from the district sulked as her right to wear a shirt and pants were taken from her and she was forced into a rather elegant dress – though she would never admit to it. It was a dark green ball gown with a sweet-heart neckline. The top of the dress clung to Joanna's torso, molding itself perfectly around it. It was also decorated with silver and brown beadings which trickled down onto the widespread skirt. The large skirt, in turn, was made of three tiers and at the bottom of each were similar silver designs to the ones the men wore. The whole was then covered in a thin silver veil giving it a sort of ethereal appearance when the threads caught rays of light. As for Joanna's hair, it had been curled and fashioned into a waterfall braid.

In regards to the makeup, Becky had gone about it rather simply. She had enhanced Joanna's eyelashes, circled her eye with a brown eyeliner and painted the lids green. Becky had additionally added a couple of little silver rhinestones beneath her eyes which – Sam thought – tended to resemble tears when they were hit by the light. All in all, Joanna Beth Harvelle look absolutely stunning and left the tributes of her district speechless upon seeing her.

"Stop staring." She muttered after a long moment, blushing in embarrassment.

The Winchester brothers had only complied with the demand once Ash had smacked them both like a proper overprotective brother. "Yeah, what she said." Ash hissed.

Sam and Dean grinned sheepishly in turn which caused the Harvelle siblings to chuckle as well, all in good humour. Becky then jumped out of the room she had invaded and hurried all of the tributes into a line so she could look at her work.

"You're all so gorgeous!" Becky giggled and then looked at Sam with a strangely obsessive expression, "Especially you."

"Great work." Bobby congratulated half-heartedly as he joined them. "Simple enough, president Lucifer will be pleased."

"Maybe but it's not like he'll see." Becky laughed but then slowly began to panic as Bobby's expression indicated otherwise. "W-what!?" she squeaked in horror and glanced back at Joanna, "W-wh…is he really…?"

Bobby nodded, "Him and Michael."

"Oh no." Becky gasped, her voice dripping with dread, "The men are fine but Joanna's— It's too flamboyant isn't it?"

"Calm down." Bobby said, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "The outfit is fine."

"Wait," Ash interjected, "Are the presidents really going to be there?"

"Seems like it." Bobby stated, "They probably showed up because of the tributes from the Capitol. Needless to say, this event is going to be way bigger than it was supposed to."

"B-but you're _sure_ her dress is okay?" Becky insisted, nearly tearing off Bobby's sleeve with her iron grip.

"Why does it matter?" Joanna asked. "Who cares if he likes it or not?"

"_Me_!" Becky stated, eyes wide with worry.

"Lucifer's been known to 'deal' with those who dismiss the rules." Bobby explained quickly as he pried Becky from him, "He's as harsh with the members of the Capitol as the ones from the district, though he rarely ever has to exact discipline on those from here."

"And what about Michael?" Sam asked. "What's his stance?"

"Michael's a bit simpler from what I understand." Bobby said. "He doesn't have much of an opinion on the Hunger Games and so lets his brother do whatever he wants in regards to them. Of course he has a veto right over the decisions but, from what it seems, he's generally in accord."

Azazel then entered the room with a beverage and a small plate of sweets for himself. Everyone froze and silenced upon seeing him, the tributes glaring. He looked them over before stating, "Joanna looks lovely" and moving to one of the large couches.

"You do realise it's about noon." He said after a moment of immobility. "That means the results of the tests are going to air soon."

Movement returned as Becky quickly escorted Joanna back into the changing room and helped her out of her dress while the men sat on a different couch and watched the screen as Azazel tried to find the proper channel. Once he did, they were generally silent and paid a very detailed attention to what the commentators were saying.

"—the Capitol seems more lively now doesn't it, Harry?" asked the first anchor.

"Why yes it does, Ed." Harry agreed with exaggerated enthusiasm, "It's as lively as…as…life."

"…Right." Ed said slowly and cleared his throat nervously before continuing, "Anyhow, today the tributes participating in the Hundredth Hunger Games have been evaluated in regards to their strength."

"Oh the gamblers have been waiting for this for a while!" Harry exclaimed with a forced and misplaced laugh.

"The results will be measured on ten and presented after these commercials." Ed informed professionally.

"Yes they will." Harry added unnecessarily, "So you better stay put or—"

The commercial breaks suddenly appeared, interrupting the clumsier of the hosts as to avoid the channel any more embarrassment. While they waited for the break to end, Dean called for Becky and Joanna, telling them that they didn't have much time before missing the entire thing. The two quickly remerged from the room, Joanna wearing a bathrobe, and seated themselves next to the others.

"Did you see who the hosts were?" Becky asked.

"Some lunatics named Harry and Ed." Bobby sighed.

"Again?" Becky groaned. "How have they not been fired?"

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when the show returned. The channel operatives had made the wise decision to not allow the hosts to introduce the segment, skipping directly to the results of the examination.

The first tribute to appear was Ruby from district 1 who scored a 9/10. Her sister, Lilith, scored a 2/10. Then there were Dick and Edgar Roman who both scored an 8/10. Sam and Dean glared at their images, remembering them as one of the many pricks who had made enemies with them. The next people they recognized were Abaddon and Crowley from district 3. The first scored a perfect 10/10 whereas her brother wasn't as lucky and got a 6/10 though the tributes weren't convinced that the rating accurately displayed what Crowley was truly capable of. Then there was Kevin and Garth Tran, both scoring feeble grades such as a 4/10 and 5/10 respectively. However, they suspected that the grades would have been much worse if Sam and Dean hadn't stepped in and helped them train during the last week.

After an unknown pairing, the Winchester brothers glared at the screen when Gordon and Kubrick Walker appeared. The two had managed to score rather high grades like a 9/10 and 8/10 in said order. This made them uneasy for Gordon had basically been their biggest problem out of the rest of them. Seeing as they had also paired themselves with Crowley, the degree of problems they would cause was essentially unknown and to be reckoned. Lastly there was Alistair and Meg Masters who had both scored a 9/10, something Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean had expected considering they had somewhat measured their strength during their scuffle.

A few more tributes appeared on the screen before finally getting to district 7. The tributes were now all unnerved, desperately wanting to know how well they had been measured. Joanna had been presented first, earning a 3/10, and then Ash who had gotten 6/10, followed by Sam with a 9/10 concluded by Dean who scored a perfect 10/10.

Bobby congratulated all of them, stating that the Winchesters established a threat to be taken seriously which was conflicted by Joanna's terrible score. Seeing as none of the other tributes were present to the examination, they wouldn't exactly know what they would be dealing with which was a plus. Once Bobby finished, they continued show the rest of the results, most tributes scoring above a 5 but a few getting bellow the norm. Bobby later stated that the ones with the lower scores would most likely act irrationally and get themselves killed at the beginning.

"Hey did um…" Dean said when the others were getting ready to leave, "Did anyone see the score Castiel and Gabriel got?"

"No." Joanna said, "They must have shown them right?"

"I don't remember seeing them." Ash said.

They all looked at Bobby for answers but he was unable to provide any. Thus the topic was left at that.

* * *

Nightfall came by quickly and Bobby went through the stories his tributes would tell the world in order to gain sponsors. Sam and Dean were told to go with what seemed like the most popular story passing amongst the other tributes if they failed to come up with their own. Becky then helped Joanna back in her dress before leaving and cleaned up the boys, telling them to be careful not to stain their clothes with food and groping Sam before waving them off.

"I feel violated." Sam admitted to Dean.

"You should." He smirked.

The tributes were brought to the bottom of the building where a large carriage with two brown horses decorated with the colours of the district were waiting for them. Their driver helped them on and Bobby told them to just wave and smile when they'd reach the crowds.

The crowds Bobby had mentioned were impossibly large. Barriers had to be set up to keep them from flooding the streets and even then it didn't always succeed. As their carriage passed, the crowds roared loudly, greeting them with rally cries. They looked at one another awkwardly, none of them had ever experienced such a thing and were rather unaccustomed to it.

"We wave, I guess." Dean finally shrugged.

Dean was the first to raise his hand, waving it widely and was soon joined by the others. The crowds cheered even louder and, for a brief moment, they were able to forget that this was their last salute before being sent off to their deaths. Flowers were eventually thrown at them and cameras controlled by androids flew to their faces, filming them briefly before moving on to the next carriage. The anthem of Panem began playing as the large coliseum where the interview would take place came in sight. The faces of each tribute was projected in a loop against its clean, white exterior and inspired a certain form a pride within them.

They were helped out of the carriage and directed down a red carpet along with the other tributes. The luckiest of Capitol citizens had a chance to get a better look at them damage their eardrums with their cries of glee. Once inside, everything was considerably quieter. The guards gestured them down a narrow corridor which eventually brought them behind the stage of the live event. There, they all met the host of this year's Hunger Games interviews: Carver Edlund.

He was a rather meek and frail looking man. The Capitol styled clothing seemed awkward on him as well as the typical makeup. Nonetheless, he wore a kind smile and nodded in greeting to all the tributes all the while tugging on the tie around his neck. "U-uh, hello everyone." He said rather clumsily, "I'm Carver Edlund but I would prefer you'd all call me Chuck."

Chuck continued to talk with the tributes, essentially running them through how things would work. They would go up in pairs and in order of their district. Once their interview was completed there was the option to return to their apartments or remain in a little guest room while waiting for the others to finish their turns. As he continued, Castiel and Gabriel emerged from the back doors, not having been with the others at the time of arrival. Strangely, they were dressed in rather mundane and casual clothing – with the typical Capitol spin, of course.

Upon spotting them, Chuck became visibly flustered and unnerved, "Oh—no…" he said interrupting himself, "I thought…"

Rather than continue what he was about to say, Chuck shoved through the thick crowd of tributes and guided Castiel and Gabriel away, whispering hastily. Due to his proximity, Sam managed to hear the general idea of the conversation. Essentially, the two Capitol volunteers had been ordered by the presidents themselves from participating in the interview or advertising their faces. Sam wondered why but hadn't had the chance to press the matter when guards wandered into the room and escorted Castiel and Gabriel away. Sam thought it odd to see the guards being so gentle with them when they were always brutal with everyone else.

Chuck finally returned and dismissed the current happening, flimsily explaining why the Capitol volunteers weren't allowed to be a part of the televised interview. No one really questioned it seeing as no one really cared about them, save for Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean. Thus the interviews began shortly after, Chuck arriving on stage with glorious explosions of glitter and feathers. He tried to play the part his predecessor had in the role as the cheerful and lovable host but seemed more awkward than anything.

And so the tributes were invited on stage one by one, most playing the role of best friends except for Abaddon and Crowley. As it was, their interview was probably the most interesting. They went on stage and, unlike the others, didn't hold hands and stayed at a great proximity from the other, occasionally glaring. When it came to seating themselves, Abaddon moved her chair away, sticking her tongue out at Crowley before seating herself elegantly. Obviously uncomfortable, Chuck tried to make a joke out of everything but failed miserably.

"I feel a bit of tension." Chuck had said with a nervous laugh, "I'm assuming you're not on the best of terms?"

"Correct." Crowley had grumbled.

"Well I'm sure it'll fix itself by the time the Games begin." Chuck had quickly added in the hopes of dismissing everything but Abaddon clearly didn't have the same intentions.

"Ha!" she had laughed noisily, "I don't plan to team up with him or anyone else for that matter! In fact, the only reason I brought him in here was to get him killed. He's such an annoying person, I'm honestly doing the world a favour."

A fight had quickly ensued, Crowley jumping out of his seat to strangle Abaddon whereas the other continued to laugh mockingly all the while Chuck desperately tried to regain control. Once he had, with the help of a few armed guards, he continued the interview as he was meant to before dismissing them with a relieved sigh.

Other than that, Sam and Dean didn't pay a particular attention to what was going on. Instead, they scanned the crowds from their location, trying to get a glimpse of the presidents said to be assisting the event live. However, neither managed to spot them and, before they knew it, Ash and Joanna were getting ready to climb on the stage. Thus the brothers pulled away and stood by their friends, wishing them good luck before they wandered onto the stage.

The audience gasped at the dazzling sight of Joanna and clapped particularly loudly. Chuck had been forced to order them to settle down with a specific hand gesture before they could proceed. "That was some entry." He said with a laugh, "You look beautiful, Joanna."

"Call me Jo." Joanna said with a smile and light head tilt.

Sam and Dean snickered from behind the scenes, seeing Joanna's painful irritation with playing the role Bobby had designated. The smile she had offered was truly a forced one with little to no kindness to it but only those who knew her could actually tell.

"I imagine it must be a relief, Jo, to enter the Hunger Games assisted by your brother." Chuck continued. "Most tributes are terrified though they never make actual mention of it."

"I'm glad Ash is here for me." She said, taking her brother's hand. The statement had probably been the only truthful thing she had said the entire time, "I don't know what I would do without him."

"And you, Ash," Chuck said, shifting in his seat to face him, "What do you make out of all of this?"

"Not much," Ash admitted, "What happened is in the past and beyond my power to change, so I work with what I have. Besides, it's like you said, these things can be scary for most so I'm glad I can support and help my little sister through it."

"That's very touching." Chuck commented with a fond smile, "We can really tell you both care about each other immensely. But what does your mother make out of this?"

"Our mother is strong," Joanna said, "She knows we'll get through this one way or the other."

"I made a promise to her before leaving," Ash added, "She told me to bring Jo back home and that we weren't allowed to lose this and I told her she didn't have to worry."

"That's a big promise." Chuck said, "You might find it a bit hard to keep. There are a lot of competent fighters this year."

"Sure but working only with bronze isn't what's going to bring you victory." Ash stated. "If you're not smart, you'll get killed just as fast as the physically weak tributes. You also need friends, especially this year. There are a lot of people and taking them all on alone isn't going to be easy."

"And did you find _friends_?" Chuck asked.

"Yes." Joanna answered for him, "The best kind."

The interview ended shortly after the final statement. It had struck Sam and Dean to the core, inspiring dread as reality reminded them that Ash and Joanna would have to die if they wanted to return home. They only managed to see the Harvelle siblings one last time as they were invited on the stage. They sent each other nods of acknowledgement and gratitude before turning their attention to the blinding stage lights and the deafening roar of the crowd.

Sam and Dean shook Chuck's hand before seating themselves and trying to make themselves comfortable. Both felt rather unnerved by everything. The only time they had been in front of a large audience was when Sam had been reaped but they didn't really have to say anything or impress anyone then. As it was, sponsors were on the line and the brothers needed to reel as many as possible so as to maximise their chances of survival.

"Well boys, I trust you haven't gotten yourselves into any more trouble." Chuck joked as he seated himself. "Apparently there were rumours of quite a few confrontations between the two of you and other tributes."

"Yeah, well, not everyone can get along." Dean answered easily and Sam was surprised by how relaxed he sounded. "Especially when the stakes are so high."

"Are you planning on following the example of Abaddon then?" Chuck asked, "The two of you against the world sort of thing?"

"I like the sound of that." Dean smirked and shoved Sam playfully.

"B-but no." Sam said quickly, "We're not idiots and we know we can't do this alone."

"So I gather you two also made a few friends." Chuck concluded. "They wouldn't happen to be from district 7, would they?"

The audience laughed at the insinuation and Sam and Dean were forced to mimic their mood, "You know what," Sam said with a comically sarcastic tone which inspired more laughs, "They actually are! How did you know?"

Chuck laughed as well, waiting for the crowd to settle, "So comedic." He sighed as he continued, "So how are things back home? Any news from your family in the district?"

Sam and Dean's expressions soured at the mention of home and family. They looked at each other, unsure whether to tell Chuck – and the entire world, for that matter – what happened. However, Sam quickly remembered that Bobby said sob stories won the heart of most sponsors.

"Dead." He said in a word, allowing the shocked audience to digest the information, "Our father was unjustly killed and our mother's been dead for years."

"Oh," Chuck said and though he did sound genuinely sad, he seemed more uncomfortable than anything, "Well at least you still have a home to go back to, right?"

"Hardly." Sam responded, "We lived in a sorry excuse for a shack, poor out of our minds."

"I thought the people in district 7 were generally well off." Chuck said, sounding surprised by what Sam was saying.

"Maybe some but that wasn't our case." Sam stated and, as he continued to speak, he began to get angry. He wasn't necessarily angry with Chuck but more with what life had given him. Dead parents, a crappy house, and barely enough food to survive. And as those things rolled through Sam's mind he was reminded of something Dean had said the previous night; _Is it wrong to want something more out of this? Do we not deserve happiness? _"We lived in a shack," he finally continued, "We barely had enough food to get by and this was including when Dean entered his name over seventy times to get us extra rations. We've had a terrible life and a month or so ago our dad was killed."

"Did you volunteer your name?" Chuck asked, assuming that their situation was linked to their involvement in the Hunger Games.

"No." Dean answered, "Me and dad wouldn't let him. His name only went in seven times like it was supposed to."

"Guess the odds weren't in my favour." Sam said bitterly and forced a smile.

Chuck was taken aback by the declaration and the information hammered into the people of the Capitol watching their interview. He took a moment to find his words, carefully assessing what should be said next, "Well," Chuck continued and smiled, "We wish you the best of luck. You deserve it."

The interview was quickly concluded after said declaration. They shook hands again, saluted the audience which seemed to cheer much louder than before and headed off stage. Moment after they had entered the backstage, Dean trapped Sam in an embrace. Sam was about to shove him off but then his mind wandered to a previous question he had asked himself and he melted into the familiar touch. They stayed like that for a while, in each other's arms with all of the remaining tributes gawking at them. Dean only broke the silence once to say: "We deserve more and there's nothing wrong with that, Sammy." almost as though he had read his brother's mind.

_We deserve to be happy._


	10. Arena

The night was spent sleeplessly as the reality of what would take place in the next few hours dawned upon all the tributes. Ash, Joanna, Sam and Dean silently made their way to the living room in the middle of the night, sitting on separate couches and exchanging no words for the longest of times. Their fear and concerns were silently understood and reciprocated by the others. They knew that words wouldn't fix anything so they said nothing. At first it was in darkness, the only source of light coming from the city lights piercing through the curtains. However, as the sun slowly rose from the horizon, light began to flood the room and before they knew it Azazel and Bobby were walking about.

"Up already?" Bobby said sounding genuinely surprised.

"Of course they are." Azazel said, "They couldn't sleep because they were terrified."

Bobby glared at him but didn't engage in further conversation. He let them be, opening the door to allow the catered food access to the apartment and helped himself. He decided he would only speak to the others until it was absolutely necessary. Until then, he only hoped they would find the courage and necessity to eat. The Games were incredibly physically demanding and they would need a lot of energy to make it through the first few hours and the night.

Still, as it was, none of them had the appetite for anything. It was a bit like the first day they had spent with Bobby. Their minds were running through horrific scenarios of what would inevitably happen, inspiring the deepest of fears and thus disabling their appetite. Though one could argue that what was passing through their minds at the current instant was far worse. All four of them had made the mistakes of making friends with some of the other tributes. Even if they had met but a few weeks ago, terrible events had a knack of creating tight bonds between those who experienced them together.

"Hey." Joanna finally said. Her voice was so quiet that the others almost missed it. "Remember the plan."

They nodded after a moment, "Screw the center." Dean said, his voice as silent as hers had been, "Meet up in generally the same area."

"Right." Sam and Ash mumbled.

"And don't die." Joanna finally added. "No matter what."

The request seemed a bit dumb to everyone and yet it meant the most.

And so they remained seated, trapped in the horror of their own minds before Bobby eventually shoved a plate of food before all of them. "I know you're not hungry." He said, "But you need to eat. Trust me, you'll thank me la—" Bobby interrupted himself. He mentally cursed at himself for having said such a thing so insensitively.

None of the tributes took it personally and still did as he bid them. Each made an effort to finish the plates placed before them but none managed to get farther than half. When they were finished Bobby sent them off to get changed into the clothes left on their unused beds.

The clothes were relatively the same for everyone. A black, skin tight shirt and pair of pants as well as a dark green coat. Bobby explained to them the reason for their shared outfit, summing himself to: "You're less likely to die from a stupid way." The skin tight clothes assured that they wouldn't get stuck anywhere. The fabric was also aerodynamic which meant they would find running around to be easier and more fluid. The coat on the other hand was expressly made to shelter them from the rain if need ever be. They didn't know what terrain they would get and so the coat was just a necessary precaution.

Then they waited for another moment until the guards came up to their apartment, ready to escort them to the arena. They had taken a tramway all the way to the airport where they embarked on a jet plane with the other tributes. Castiel and Gabriel were the first to spot them as they always were and stayed next to them. Garth and Kevin joined them soon after, expressing worry and anxiety whereas the others tried to remain strong but felt that their façade wasn't as convincing as they thought it was. Nonetheless, they embarked on the machine and sat next to each other, exchanging no particular word during the flight.

When they landed an hour or so later, they were escorted into a nice building surrounded by trees. Most of them thought the arena would then be in a forest or something of the like but would soon be surprised. They went to the basement of the building where they were then separated individually and brought to their pods. Sam found that he had walked a considerable distance to get to his location, finding it odd until he remembered the amount of tributes were participating in the year. He was then left in the room with his pod alone and waited for he had been told Bobby would visit him.

Sure enough, some twenty minutes later, Bobby opened the door to his room and greeted him with a half-assed smile and a nod. Sam returned the gesture and they remained in silence for a minute. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Strangely calm." Sam answered.

"Don't worry, you'll be panicking when the counter starts going down." Bobby replied and Sam wasn't sure if the comment was meant as a joke or not.

"Hey um…" Sam paused, feeling awkward about bringing it up, "Did…did you ever know a John Winchester…?"

The name made Bobby flinch and his expression drop. "Yeah you're…" his voice trailed off for a moment before he focused, "You're…don't tell me you're his kid."

Sam nodded and was surprised to see Bobby lose his composure.

"So that means that the man who was killed…" he concluded, gritting his teeth in anger, "Son of a fucking bitch."

A guard knocked loudly at the door, most likely signaling Bobby to move on to the other tributes. Bobby barked at the man rudely in response.

"Some shit luck you had." Bobby growled, "You know I went into the Games for your dad?"

"No." Sam said shocked, "I mean, dad talked about you but he never mentioned that."

"He was probably ashamed or something." Bobby deduced, "I mean, he felt so guilty for not stopping me. He probably thought I was going to die."

"But you made it out." Sam stated and paused before adding: "And so will we."

Bobby smiled fondly and placed a hand on his shoulder, "If you're as tenacious as your dad then I have no doubt." Bobby said, "You got to do what you got to do."

The angry knock from the other end of the door returned and Bobby barked at the soldier once more. He embraced Sam, wishing him the best of luck before leaving him to go see the three others. And so he waited for nearly thirty minutes before the green light next to his pod was illuminated, signaling him to board. He hesitated for a moment up ultimately went anyways after building up the courage to march to his death.

Once inside the pod, the glass doors shut abruptly and seconds later the platform was rising. Bobby had been right about panicking later for as soon as the room Sam had been standing in was gone, his legs started to feel weak and he had trouble breathing. He braced himself against the cylinder walls as it continued to climb upwards and calm down but he found it nearly impossible. By the time he had regained some of his mental capacity, Sam had been nearly arrived the top of the elevator but thought it was rather strange that it had taken so much time for him to reach the arena from bellow.

Everything made sense as the pod stilled and Sam was able to gaze out of the glass doors keeping him in place. He was in an abandoned building. The area was rather dark and littered with plant life that had fused itself with the structure over time. He quickly found a broken window to stare out and saw large holographic numbers hanging high in the sky. Sam then tried to peer around the room, looking for Dean or any other tribute but found no one. Then the speakers went on.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a woman calmly said, "Since this is the hundredth Hunger Games, more than the rule has been changed in order to maximise the enjoyment of the event. For the first time, tributes will start from the edge of the arena separated by twenty miles from the others. The weapons typically found in the center will be there as per usual however, there will also be bags and other goods stashed around the arena. Once the counter above the center of the arena counts down to zero, you will be let out of your pods and will be on your own. Whenever one of you dies, a canon will be fired. At midnight, if the Games are still unfinished, there will be a tally commemorating those who gave their lives to the Games. May the odds ever be in your favour."

Suddenly the timer began to count down with large beats as the numbers changed. Overcome by anxiety and fear, Sam struggled to think and ready himself. He watched the numbers with utter horror as they approached zero and desperately tried to think of a course of action but the only thing he could process was: "I have to find Dean."

Finally, the doors slid open as the buzzer sounded exceptionally loud upon hitting zero. Sam ran out of the pod almost as though it would have blown to bits if he hadn't, which it might as well have. Seconds after leaving its comfort, the thing descended back down to the basement and closed the hole it left behind with small metal doors. He swallowed heavily and looked back out the window.

He was alone and afraid and the only thing he really wanted at the given moment was to find Dean. Slowly, he approached the window of the building in which he had been left to gaze out at the terrain. He hoped to get an idea of what he was dealing with, maybe to help think of a strategy of the sort, but his viewed was covered by the leaves of abnormally large trees. Thus Sam decided to climb to the rooftop and found that he did, indeed, have a far better view of everything from there.

The arena was a large and abandoned city. It had evidently been abandoned for some time seeing as large trees had managed to pierce the concrete of roads and grow from there. The streets themselves were covered by grass and moss and some roots of other plants had managed to tangle themselves around most of the buildings, piercing the windows and bricks. Though the sight was desolate and rather grim, Sam found a certain beauty and wonder in it and would have enjoyed wandering around the area if he didn't have to kill people who threatened to take his life and his brother's.

So for a minute, Sam decided to forget a bit about everything and think of a course of action. The woman over the intercom had told them that the center of the arena held all of the supplies everyone would need but also that there were a few extras stashed around. Heeding Bobby's advice, going to the center was generally a bad idea seeing as most of the other tributes would likely head in that general direction. A bloodbath would inevitably ensue and he would likely perish if he wasn't one of the first ones to arrive and arm himself. And so, deciding not to risk anything, Sam decided he would stay around from the center and try to find provisions elsewhere.

And just as the thought crossed his mind, Sam noticed something strange in the tree that had been blocking his view from where he had been dropped off. Whatever was in it seemed like a duffle bag or something of the like. Feeling that his bad luck had finally come to an end, Sam decided to grab it and look at its contents before making his way around the perimeter in search for Dean, Ash, Joanna or whoever else he had made friends with over the week.

He climbed back down the stairs and peered out the window, trying to find a way to access the tree. To his luck, some of the thick branches had pierced through a neighbouring building and seemed steady enough to cross on and make his way to the bag left behind. And so Sam did just that. It had taken him a couple of minutes to find a proper entry to the building he had to access and a few more to reach the given tier since the stairwell had crumbled and rendered the task a tad more difficult than it should have been.

Nonetheless, he made it and sighed contently as he readied himself to climb the large branch. Before doing so however, Sam peered down to investigate just how high he truly was. He soon concluded that it was in his best interest not to fall and took in a deep breath before he climbed into the tree. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the tree was far more stable than the buildings he had been in a few moments ago and found it rather easy to climb and move around. Thus he climbed the branches and tried making his way to where he had thought he had seen the duffle bag and quickly caught a glance of it. Stretching as much as he could, Sam managed to snatch the edge and yank it from where he had been placed. However, what he had thought was a duffle bag was actually the corpse of some person and Sam nearly fell from where he stood upon being horribly surprised.

He quickly steadied himself and cursed. Of course he wasn't going to be _that_ lucky right off the bat.

Sam then climbed down the tree, deciding to travel the perimeter any but needing to find a suitable weapon before. He walked around the area a bit, entering every building he crossed in search for anything that could be useful to him. Eventually he came upon an area with pipes sticking out of the wall and one was loose enough to be pried from its location. He tested his swing and, generally satisfied with what he had managed to find, continued on his way.

Sam decided to stick to his left in the hopes that any other of his allies had chosen the right and they would soon meet. He walked for about an hour in a half, finding no one when a cannon suddenly went off, marking the death of one tribute.

"Forty-nine left." Sam said to himself.

Another soon went off after. "Forty-eight." He corrected.

He quickly continued walking, hoping that Dean hadn't been involved in the deaths in any way. About another hour later, Sam began to feel exhausted and wished for water but, having found no bags and refusing to travel to the middle, found himself with limited options. Thus he decided to retreat into a building and wait for a moment in order to regain his strength. Not a second after having found refuge in a shaded area, an alarming snap sounded far too close for comfort. Sam braced himself for a confrontation, clutching the pipe in his hands readily and cautiously approached the general zone from which it had come.

Seconds later, he was jumped by a woman who punched him at least twice before stopping herself. Sam was about to retaliate and slam the pipe solidly on her head when he saw who it was that had managed to best him. "R…Ruby?"

"Sam?" She returned and immediately got off him. She helped him up as she said: "Jesus, you scared me!"

"Same here." He responded with a sheepish laugh.

"So I guess you were one of my neighbours then." Ruby concluded. "Do you know who died?"

"No idea." Sam affirmed. "We'll figure it out if we make it to midnight."

"If." Ruby repeated morbidly. "So are you going to kill me? Should I be worried for my life?"

"Well," Sam said slowly, taking a step back, "Not unless _you_ want to kill me."

"I just want to find my sister." Ruby said.

"And I just want to find my brother." Sam affirmed as well.

"Then how about we stick together for a bit?" Ruby suggested, "We'd have a better chance finding them by working together."

Sam smiled, "Sure." He said, "But you need a weapon or something to defend yourself with."

"Yeah…" Ruby smirked, looking at her hands, "I didn't really know what to take."

"Well anything solid will do." Sam said and gestured the rusty pipe in his hands, "So far this is the best I could do. I think we can find you something like that."

Ruby nodded and they quickly began searching the premises for a pipe or something just as useful. Sam eventually found a shard of a metal frame with a pointy end about the same length as a knife. He offered it to Ruby and when she accepted it, they were on their way. They decided to continue wandering in the direction Sam had chosen since Ruby hadn't actually taken the time to look around and scavenge the place.

They had barely taken a few steps out of the building when a tribute surprised them. She had made the idiotic mistake of shouting before swinging thus warning Sam and Ruby to her presence and allowing them to dodge the attack. The tribute had found one of the stashed goods and was wielding a machete though it wasn't much of a threat in her hands seeing as she only swung it around frantically without any real tactic in play. Sam quickly managed to disable her by slamming the pipe he held onto her wrist with enough strength to fracture the bone. While the tribute howled in pain and held her wrist, Ruby took the opportunity to lodge her knife-like weapon into the girl's head, effectively killing her.

Sam and Ruby watched the body drop lifelessly to the floor, the former experiencing more horror than the latter. Seconds later, another canon went off, announcing the death of another tribute.

"Forty-seven." Sam and Ruby mumbled at the same time.

They exchanged glances before Ruby picked up the machete and the sheath. She strapped it around her waist and slipped the machete in place, "Next weapon we find, you can have." She said.

Sam nodded and grabbed the bag the tribute had been carrying. Though it was empty Sam figured it would obviously come into great use much later. And if they ever found any fruits from the plants that had taken over the city, they now had the means to carry them around. Thus they continued their journey quietly and pondering. The death of the tribute he had witness had made the reality of the Hunger Games all the more real and, at the given point, Sam wanted to find Dean as soon as possible.

_Don't die on me now…_he thought to himself.


	11. Trio

**This chapter winks at purgatory.**

* * *

The second the door had opened Dean had dashed out. He had been released in the middle of an old alley that had been taken over by plant life and his path would have been barred by an oddly placed tree if the walls on either side of him hadn't had a gaping hole. So the first thing Dean did was scout the two buildings for bags of provisions or anything of the like but found nothing of use. However, he wasn't about to wander around the terrain unarmed and so settled for carrying a brick until he found something better.

Once ready to go, Dean tried to think of what Sam would do in the situation. He thought for a bit and reckoned his brother would assess the terrain and avoid the center like wild fire until enough time had passed. And so Dean decided to climb the highest building around him and decide on how he would go about travelling the now hostile area. He quickly found that the rooftops were generally close and that he could easily hop from one to the other. Though it would be more physically demanding than walking through the abandoned streets, it provided more cover and a better view of his surroundings. In addition, the chances of someone managing to sneak up on him were rather minimal and impossible unless the person in question wielded a long range weapon.

Thus he began hopping from one building to another, and running around desperately in search for Sam. All he could really think about was how helpless his brother was in his absence. Though Dean knew better and was fully aware that Sam was more than capable of handling himself just find against any adversary, he couldn't help but worry. As the older brother, it was his duty to protect Sam and assure his security and he couldn't do such a thing when so far away from him. He simply hoped nothing would happen until he managed to reach him.

Dean was able to move from rooftop to rooftop for at least an hour before reaching an area in which the structures had wider spaces in between. Left with no other option to climb down, he did as so and began using the streets. He quickly found what appeared to be an abandoned shop of the sort. He couldn't exactly tell what it held but he figured it was his best option to find a weapon seeing as he was still working with a rock.

He wandered into the structure cautiously through where the windows once were and was exceptionally careful not to make any unnecessary noises. He roamed through the shelves, finding expired cans, moss and flowers and was about to resign when he noticed a duffle bag beneath the counter. The bag itself was covered in dust and seemed to have been in the place for as long as the city had been abandoned. For a moment, Dean thought he would find nothing but was pleasantly surprised upon finding a colt and twenty silver bullets. He grinned and quickly loaded the weapon before tucking it into his pants and shoving the extra bullets in his pockets. Though the brick was of no further use, Dean decided to keep it anyways as a weapon of close combat until he came across something more convenient.

Thus he left the area and looked on either sides of the street, nearly missing the silhouette on the far end to his left. Dean's hand immediately wandered to the butt of the colt, ready to grasp it and shoot the potential adversary but was stopped by a whim. The tribute was too far away to be identified but there seemed to be something familiar to him – if it was a him. Nonetheless, Dean didn't want to get too close in case he was wrong to have stopped himself from shooting the person and yet had no idea how to identify him or her from his distance.

"Friend or foe?" He finally called out, wincing as his voice echoed through the empty city.

The person turned to face him, apparently not having noticed him until he spoke and seemed to stare at Dean curiously. There was silence for quite a long moment, the other seemingly examining Dean before finally responding: "Dean…? Is that you?"

Dean recognized the voice immediately and couldn't help himself from grinning in relief as he ran towards him. "Cas!" he called, recognizing him as the distance separating them became smaller. "Oh my god! I'm so glad to see you!"

Castiel met him half way, stumbling into his tight embrace and responding rather awkwardly. He waited for Dean to release him and returned the smile he offered. "Hello Dean." He said. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah," Dean agreed with a breathless laugh before taking a look at his friend, "_What_ are you wearing?"

Castiel looked at his clothes with a confused expression. He took a hold of the beige trench coat and gestured it silently, wondering if Dean was referring to that particular item of clothing. "This?" He asked, "I found it in a bag next to my pod."

"Why did you take it?" Dean asked.

"I thought it might be useful eventually." Castiel reasoned, "They wouldn't have put it in the bag for nothing."

"True." Dean agreed. "Do you have any weapons?"

"No." Castiel replied.

"Well we'll find you something." He said and lead the way down the street, "Come on—"

A canon fire quickly interrupted them and froze them into place. They glanced at the other with wide eyes, about to speak when another fired. They waited an additional moment to see if it was truly done.

"Forty-eight." Castiel said.

"Let's get going." Dean said quickly, jogging down the road, "We need to find the others as soon as possible."

Castiel nodded and followed his lead. They quickly scavenged the abandoned buildings in search for a weapon but found nothing to be used. Finally they happened upon a rather thick and long branch that would have to make do for the moment. Castiel took it and they thus continued their journey around the perimeter of the arena.

An hour later, another canon sounded, unnerving Dean all the more. He couldn't help but worry about his brother's safety and the amount of people that were left. He picked up the pace, Castiel following a few steps behind until he was forced to stop by an arrow landing at his feet. Dean stopped a few moments later and was horrified to see the last person he ever wanted to encounter standing on the roof of a building: Abaddon.

She laughed evilly as she readied another shot at Castiel who, again, barely evaded it. "Stop moving!" She snapped.

"Cas!" Dean shouted. He ran to him, grabbed his arm and dragged him beneath the building Abaddon had been seen camping on.

"God damn it!" Abaddon hissed, "You're stalling the inevitable, Winchester!"

"Shit." Dean cursed and looked around desperately for an escape route. "Out of everyone—"

"It's okay, Dean." Castiel said, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "You should get out of here."

"What?" Dean asked, "What about you?"

"I'll stay behind and stall her." Castiel declared, "It's me she wants."

"What!?" Dean snapped loudly and shoved Castiel's touch away, "What the hell are you saying!? I'm not leaving you behind!"

Castiel tried to argue but the heavy and echoing steps of Abaddon running down the building interrupted him. Dean grabbed Castiel's hand and began dragging him around again, holding on tightly so as to make sure the other would keep following. They ran back out into the streets and down the road as fast as they could, narrowly avoiding one of Abaddon's arrows. They navigated through the buildings, never stopping to catch their breath or to see if they had lost Abaddon in the maze that was the abandoned city.

They eventually reached an area that quickly became houses and apartments and decided to hide in one of them until they were absolutely certain Abaddon had left or was out of the immediate area. Most of the homes were ruined, the ceilings caved in and the outer structure generally crumbled, leaving only the skeleton, but they managed to find a relatively decent one. Dean lead the way, his colt drawn as they quickly scouted the house before hurrying up to the second floor and hiding in a rather small closet.

And for a moment they merely stood in place, gazing out the small opening which also provided their only source of light in the location. Their breaths were heavy and they were on edge, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Their minds were so focused on Abaddon and the dangerous situation they had found themselves in that it had taken them a long while to realise they were still holding onto the other's hand. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of standing and waiting, Dean sat down and gestured Castiel to do the same.

Their position was generally awkward, their legs were queerly intertwined in a most uncomfortable manner but none complained as they let out a relieved sigh, assuming that the immediate danger had finally passed. And for an additional moment, the two remained quiet, losing themselves in their mind before Castiel spoke.

"Why didn't you do as I said?" He asked.

"I wasn't going to leave you to die, man." Dean stated.

"But you're going to have to kill me anyhow," Castiel argued, "It's the only way you can return home."

Dean kicked Castiel angrily, "Shut up." He hissed, "Don't talk like that!"

"But it's—"

"I said shut up, Cas!" Dean snapped, "You're my friend and I'm not going to kill you! I don't care about the stupid rules!"

There was then a tense silence where Dean found himself swearing that he would never harm Castiel. He quickly realized how strange the declaration was and felt rather embarrassing for making such an oath. He had known Castiel for two weeks before the Hunger Games and though terrible situations did then to create strong bonds, he had never titled the other as 'friend' until the given moment. And if he were to be completely honest with himself, Dean didn't owe Castiel anything and so promising to protect him as he would protect Sam sounded absolutely ludicrous. In the end, he would also have to choose between the two.

_We'll cross that bridge when we get there…_ he told himself.

They remained in place for a couple more hours in total silence before another canon shot was heard. Dean had flinched violently at the sound of it, wondering if Sam or anyone else he had made friends with had finally died to their turn. Castiel sensed the worry in Dean and struggled with finding the words to reassure or comfort him.

"Forty-six." He mumbled to himself before looking up at Dean, "Dean," he said, grabbing his attention, "We should think about moving out. It's not a good idea to stay in one place for too long."

Dean nodded and the two finally stood. Dean took the initiative to peak out of the house assure that the coast was clear. He eventually motioned Castiel to emerge from the closet and follow him closely. "We'll scavenge the house." Dean whispered to him. "Look for weapons or something edible."

Castiel nodded and they quickly separated. Castiel took care of searching the top level of the house and attic whereas Dean took the main floor and the basement. Other than a few rotten goods in a pantry, there was nothing particularly useful to be found. He waited for Castiel near the entrance, the other returning to him empty handed. He sighed deeply and peered out the window quickly.

"I guess we can look through a few more houses." Dean said, "And then we'll move on."

"Should we go back to the city?" Castiel asked.

"No," Dean responded, shaking his head, "Abaddon probably went back. She had a tactically advantageous position and she'll most likely be waiting for idiots to wander by."

"That seems improbable." Castiel argued, "Most of the tributes probably wandered to the middle of the arena to grab some goods. If she wanted to kill more people, it would be to her advantage to head towards the middle."

"Still," Dean insisted, "We're not taking that chance. We'll keep moving East and hope we find the others soon."

Castiel nodded, accepting the course of action and followed Dean into the streets. He waved his gun around for a bit as he inspected the general zone. Upon deducing that it was clear, they quickly scavenged a couple of houses, finding nothing productive. And so they quickly moved on, jogging rather than walking so as to cover more ground fast.

The suburban region eventually became a forest. At first Dean and Castiel were considering going around rather than through but then they reckoned they could potentially find berries or other things to eat. Sure enough, after wandering around the thick greenery for a handful of minutes, they came upon a large bush with black coloured berries. Castiel knelt before it, examining it thoroughly and concluded:

"These are blackcurrants. They're edible."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked, nervously eyeing the fruit, "They kind of look like those poisonous berries…"

"I'm positive." Castiel affirmed and to prove his point he ate one, "See?"

Dean sighed, relieved to not having to witness Castiel suffocate and die in front of him and began picking them. He ate a handful and nearly spat it out but forced himself to swallow. The fruit was strangely bitter. "That's nasty." He stated.

"Blackcurrants are typically boiled with sugar before eaten." Castiel explained as he collected more berries and dropped them in his pockets, "They are normally used in specific recipes, mainly deserts. I read somewhere that its juice boiled with sugar helped relief sore throats whereas its raw juice was helpful in reducing fevers."

"So these could be very useful if someone gets sick or something." Dean concluded and nodded, "They still taste pretty nasty. I mean, they're so bitter."

"I'm sure the forest has more berries at its disposal," Castiel said, "But as it is, we don't know that for a fact and might as well eat as much as we can even if it's disgusting before moving on. There's no telling if we'll actually find anything edible from this point on."

Dean eyed the berries quizzically, unsure on wanting to abuse his taste buds any further. But, Castiel had made a compelling argument and so he stuffed his face just as the other was. When he had eaten as much as he could without regurgitating, Dean stopped and stood guard as Castiel finished filling his pockets as much as he could. However, they were soon interrupted by alarming sounds.

Someone nearby was running through the forest and was coming right for them. Dean quickly grabbed Castiel and got him on his feet, grabbing the colt quickly and readying himself for a confrontation. The culprit had sprung from the bushes, knocking the both of them over before attacking Dean. Castiel hurried to his feet and searched for the thick branch he was wielding as a weapon but, by the time he got his hands on it, a second character jumped from out of nowhere and tugged the tribute from Dean.

The guy seemed around the same age as Dean. He was rather muscular and a bit physically thick and the extent of his strength was demonstrated by how he managed to beat the other tribute to a bloody pulp with his bare hands. Blood had splattered everywhere and Dean and Castiel looked at the scene in utter horror but were quickly interrupted by the addition of two new tributes appearing out of nowhere. Dean shot the one that was about to end his saviour with a knife and Castiel managed to knock the other out with his branch.

Finally, the third party stood from the bloody corpse and nodded in gratitude to Dean and Castiel. "Thanks, brother." He said with a southern drawl.

"You too." Dean said and then gestured the knife, "You going to take it?"

"Nah," he refused and then paused as the canons fired two shots, "You and Capitol can have it."

"That's not my name." Castiel said, "It's Castiel."

"Sure but we've been calling you Capitol for the past two weeks." He responded with a shrug, "It's a force of habit now so I don't think it'll stop any time soon."

"What's your name?" Dean finally asked.

"Benny. From district 11." The other responded and stared at Dean pensively for a moment, "I think we acquainted ourselves while training at some point…your name is Dean, right?"

"Yeah." And Dean then remembered the tribute who had been incredibly skilled at hand to hand combat. "Oh, I remember you now! You came in with your sister, didn't you?"

Benny flinched upon the mention of her and turned his gaze to the bloody body at his feet, "Yeah." He mumbled sadly, "Her name was Elizabeth."

"Are you looking for her?" Dean asked.

Benny stayed silent and glared at the body, "I found her a few hours earlier." Benny said quietly, "She was scared, I said I would take care of her… I decided to try going to the center of the arena with her, I thought we could find the things we needed to hold out long enough to win this stupid thing. Then these three," Benny gestured the three laying on the ground, "snuck up on us and got her. I chased the one who killed her and got him here. The other two would have gotten me if you hadn't been there so thanks."

"Sorry about your sister." Dean said.

Their conversation was momentarily interrupted by the groaning of the tribute Castiel had only knocked out. Benny picked up the knife and wandered to him, stabbing the blade deep in his head before handing it to Castiel who reluctantly took it as the canons fired again.

"Are you sure?" Castiel asked. "I don't mind carrying the stick…"

"Lizzie died." He said sadly, "I have no reason to win this anymore. She was the last of my family and now I'm all alone."

The situation quickly became awkward. Dean and Castiel found themselves at a loss of what they were supposed to say to Benny. How was one meant to comfort a man who had literally nothing to live for anymore?

"Want to…want to come with us?" Dean offered after a moment, "We could use the extra help in trying to find our brothers and friends."

Benny stared at him blankly for a while before laughing, "Boy, you've got guts." He smirked, "I don't think anyone else would have made the offer you did in your situation."

"I don't know…" Dean mumbled, "You don't seem like a bad person…"

"You're not so bad yourself." Benny responded with a soft smile. "I suppose I can help then."

"Awesome." Dean grinned. "Let's get a move on then."


	12. Numbness

By the time night fell, half of the tributes had been killed. Most of the deaths were made at around two o' clock which seemed to be the general time where everyone stupid enough to head to the center went. A bloodbath had most likely taken place and many shots were fired by the canon to signal the others. Sam had nearly lost count but concluded, around the end, that there were about twenty-five people left. The thought of so many having died in such a horrible way, and within the first few hours no less, was sickening to Sam who had a difficulty digesting the truth.

He and Ruby continued to travel together around the perimeter of the arena, luckily crossing no one else along the way for a long while. They had also luckily found a duffle bag filled with snacks and so separated them between each other, careful to only eat the bare minimum as to save the rest for later. Night fell shortly after and the only thing Sam and Ruby were really missing was fresh water. They had arrived in a sector of the arena where the tall buildings became broken houses and hoped to find luck there. They had only scavenged a few houses before they were forced to stay put for the night and none of them had water hidden anywhere.

Thus their resignation for the day ended and they decided to camp into the less broken of all the houses in the immediate vicinity. They climbed to the second floor, feeling safer there than anywhere else and organised themselves in a room furnished with only one large closet.

"We'll pick up at first light." Sam said. "You should get some rest. I'll take care of the first watch."

"I'm not sure I trust you." Ruby stated, "What gives me the certainty you won't stab me to death in my sleep?"

Sam took a moment to decide how to answer the question, "I guess you don't." Sam said, "But I could have killed you when you were unarmed and I didn't. I also allowed you to take the knife we got from that tribute without much of a fight, knowing full well you could have me killed in seconds with it."

"I reckon you might have been a bit too shocked to register anything then." Ruby smirked.

"Maybe, but my point is I think I'm more trustworthy than you give me credit for." Sam stated, "If I wanted you dead, I would have done it long ago. As it is, I have no reason to want to kill you and, in the end, you're more useful to me alive than you are dead. Having an extra pair of eyes and hands is something you and I can't do without right now, so I know you won't kill me either."

"You're smarter than I thought you were." Ruby said with a smile, "You're also very trusting. That'll get you killed, you know?"

"Probably." Sam said with a bitter laugh, "But, for some reason, I don't really care right now."

"Why?" She asked.

"I don't know." Sam admitted, "I was scared out of my mind before, when I was wandering the arena alone. And then I found you and I felt a bit more reassured, safe. I felt less anxious about everything but things changed a lot when you killed that tribute. Everything sort of went numb."

"So I take it that was your first time seeing someone die?" Ruby concluded.

Sam nodded, "It was strange." He mumbled, "I thought I was scared but then I realised I just…I really didn't care."

"That's because a part of you knows it's necessary." Ruby informed. "You also didn't have any personal bond with the girl. Things might have been different if you had."

"You're probably right." Sam nodded and then paused. There was a long resting silence before Sam finally asked: "How did it feel? To kill, I mean."

Ruby didn't seem fazed by the question, in fact, she had been expecting it. "I'd freak you out if I told you the truth." She smirked, her eyes focusing on the ground in front of her feet.

"Try me." Sam said.

"Well," Ruby mused, "To put it bluntly, I liked it. It felt invigorating and empowering. There's something amazing in holding someone else's life in your hands and playing God for a brief moment as you contemplate whether to deal the final blow."

Though the declaration would have most likely frightened anyone else, Sam found himself understanding Ruby's declaration to some extent. Such a position was a big and difficult one and Sam would eventually have to make the same call. Perhaps it was a bit strange to find pleasure in ending the life of another but the sense of power did have the terrific ability to please the beholder regardless of the situation. Sam wondered if he too would experience the same delight.

"You should get some sleep." He finally said. "I'll wake you when I get too tired to continue or if anything comes up."

Ruby hesitated for a moment but eventually lied down. She had decided to use the bag they carried as a pillow and closed her eyes. Sam watched her carefully, surprised when she fell asleep seconds after getting comfortable. He understood that she was exhausted after the running and fighting they had done but the potential danger of tributes happening upon them was enough to keep Sam's senses peeled. Thus he spent most of the night staring out the window and gazing around for any signs of movement. A part of him hoped that Dean would wander about and that they would finally be reunited but he was fully aware how improbable it actually was. Nonetheless, he still hoped.

A couple of hours later, Sam began to feel sleep weighing on him. After spending a lot of time looking around and finding no reason to fear, well, anything, his agitation had dissipated. He soon found himself nodding off and, before falling asleep, managed to wake Ruby. The few hours she had slept seemed to have been enough to revitalise her and Sam felt lucky for, as soon as his head landed on the bag they used as a pillow, he was out like a light.

* * *

When Sam came to the sun was shining brightly, filling the room. He was still drowsy from the long hours he had spent sleeping and had barely noticed the unfamiliar voices elsewhere in the house. He jumped to his feet, startled and mildly panicking, his eyes darting around the room for his weapon. However, the rusty pipe he had been using was nowhere to be seen nor was Ruby and the items they had acquired. Sam's heart plummeted to his stomach in despair. He had been betrayed.

Things only worsened when he heard one of the two tributes present say: "Let's check upstairs. Maybe there are beds or something where we can sleep for a bit."

Sam's mind thus began racing. He didn't want to die and certainly not without having seen or spoken to Dean one last time. The thought of everything, his life, ending in such a place thus angered him. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

_I deserve something better…_Sam thought to himself, his rage augmenting as the steps of the tributes drew closer, _I deserve to be happy_—

The tributes suddenly stumbled upon him, seemingly startled by his presence. Before he could think coherently, Sam blindly threw himself at the nearest one, slugging him in the face wildly, and drawing blood with the first few adrenaline fueled hits. He continued beating the tribute's face in, seeing only read and feeling nothing but anger until he began to feel exhausted. The rate of his punches slowed and he breathed heavily, staring at the other's broken face emptily. For a moment, Sam thought the tribute was dead; how could he be alive when he had managed to cave in his face? And yet, after a brief second, choked breaths escaped and blood spluttered from the center of his face like a fountain.

He could see the tribute's blue eyes staring at him in disbelief and horror, as though he had been ended by a monster. And though Sam should have been horrified by his actions, he felt nothing other than the slight buzz of power Ruby had described the night before. It then occurred to him that the tribute had been wandering around with another person. He looked to his left and found the body of the second one, his head having been sliced open by Ruby who loomed above it. Sam should have been dead if it hadn't been for Ruby.

"I thought you were gone." Sam mumbled in disbelief, "I thought you had left me to die."

"Honestly, I did consider it." Ruby said, "But I decided against it."

"Where did you go?" Sam asked, "Why did you leave me? Why did you—"

"When I heard the voices," Ruby interrupted, "I decided to hide and use you as a distraction. I thought it would be easier to kill them if they were focused on you, especially if they were armed. Honestly though, I didn't expect you to go berserker and mess that guy up."

Sam looked back at the tribute, somehow, he was still breathing. "The canons…" Sam mumbled, "They haven't gone off yet…"

"Nope." Ruby confirmed, "They're probably watching us right now and waiting for you to finish the job."

"I don't know if I can now…" Sam admitted, he stared at his trembling hand. It was so unsteady and numb, he knew he wouldn't be able to punch the guy again.

"They're waiting, Sam." Ruby said softly, "You don't have a choice. This guy's in pain, he's probably suffering horribly so you'd be doing him a favour by putting him out of his misery. Besides, he was standing in your way of getting home. You'd be doing the right thing."

_The right thing…_ Sam thought, his eyes trained on the bleeding mess beneath him. Ruby nudged him with the machete, offering it to him and he reluctantly took it. Sam spent a brief moment carefully examining the tribute he was able to kill. His eye was shining and he seemed as though he was about to cry as Sam raised the blade high above his head to deliver the final blow. As he brought it down, he thought that, for a moment, the other had been begging him to spare him by lightly shaking his head. If what he had seen had been true, than Sam had ignored his plea and the thought of such a possibility strangely invigorated him.

Two shots were thus fired by the canons and Ruby then helped him to his feet. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A bit better." Sam said.

"Just after killing a guy?" She smirked. "That's a bit strange."

"I suppose." Sam conceded. "Let's get moving."

The tributes hadn't been carrying anything of use. Sam was given back his weapon and led the way around the many abandoned houses while Ruby briefed him on what had taken place whilst he slept. Apparently, seconds after he fell asleep, the faces of all of the tributes who had died were displayed in the general area where the counter had been at the very beginning of the Games. She said that no one they knew had been displayed and that district 12 had been entirely eradicated.

"They were never particularly skilled." She reckoned as they arrived at the border of a forest.

They stopped just before entering it, assessing whether or not they should carry on through or go around. Sure the forest provided more cover for them but it did the same to any possible adversary. It also held the possibility of extra food rations seeing as there could be fruit plants somewhere within it but they weren't in any dire need of it. Sam and Ruby discussed their options and ultimately decided to go around the forest and wander a bit more towards the center so as to use the taller buildings as cover if need ever be. Thus they wandered through the abandoned city, keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings.

When the sun marked noon, Sam and Ruby decided to stop in a building and climbed to the roof. They had a light snack, frowning at their dwindling food supply and eventually got to discussing their next course of action. They looked at the terrain and quickly learned that the forest they had decided to go around was the only source of compact greenery to be seen for miles. They both assumed that it was also the only forest in the arena but couldn't be sure until they had explored everything.

"I think we should head to the center." Ruby said. "Everyone stupid enough to rush in is now dead and the others will most likely have left."

"If that's true then there wouldn't be any reason to head there." Sam reasoned, "All of the good supplies have most likely been taken. We should focus on finding our siblings and alternative courses of actions."

"What makes you think the others haven't thought of going to the center?" Ruby asked, and Sam thought she seemed a bit too irritated.

"I know a fact that my brother and friends haven't gone," Sam stated, "And that's because, before this whole thing started, we agreed that the center was bad news and decided to avoid it at all costs."

"Then let's at least move closer to it." Ruby said instead, "We don't know how close we are to the force field surrounding the arena anyway and the others might be wandering nearer the center."

"And if they're not?" Sam asked, unsure.

"We'll just have to take a chance." Ruby said, "In the end, we'll find them eventually."


	13. Duo

Dean, Castiel and Benny had taken turns over the night to keep watch. They had wandered into a rather tall and broken building, hiding behind the rubble for cover from any potential tribute wandering about the area. Benny had been the one to spend a vast majority of the night awake, probably overcome by the grief of loss. Dean had woken up some time in the middle of the night when loud, patriotic music began playing and the faces of the many tributes that had died were advertised. He noticed how Benny winced upon seeing Elizabeth's face. Dean had thought of saying something but feared making things worse and he pretended to have seen nothing and went back to sleep.

The three had begun moving as soon as half of the sun could be seen peaking above the horizon. Only twenty-five tributes had made it through the first few hours and the night. The thought of so many having died so suddenly made Dean's stomach churn in horror but made no comment of it. The death of the others was necessary for him and Sam to return home. However, the main problem Dean seemed to have was the realization that all – if not then most of the tributes remaining were the strongest of the bunch, to be feared and not taken lightly.

The first few hours of wandering around the area was cautious. The three were trying to deduce whether any tributes were in the area though they quickly found otherwise. Nonetheless, they kept their guards up as they began searching the buildings. None of them wanted to go to the center of the arena and see whether any decent items would have been left behind thus their efforts were concentrated on finding a stray supply bag.

Within roughly two hours of scavenging, they had found nothing and were becoming dismayed. The only food they had were blackcurrants and though it would stifle their hunger for the time being, it wouldn't sustain them for long. And yet, satiating hunger wasn't of the most capital matter; they needed to find water and keep themselves hydrated. As far as they could see, no stream ran through the abandoned city of forest area and so they would really have to count on sponsors aiding them or finding a water source.

Finally, abandoning their search in the area, they decided to move along and continue searching for their allies. Benny hadn't mentioned seeing Sam's face when the dead tributes were being advertised and no canon fires had been heard since then so it was fair to deduce that Dean's little brother was, indeed, still alive. And yet the other couldn't help but worry about how long that would continue to be the case in his absence. He hoped that Sam had managed to find Ash or Jo or anyone they trusted and that he wasn't fending for himself on his own. He also hoped that Sam hadn't gotten hurt or sick though the last fear was a bit of a stretch for such a short lapse of time since they'd last seen one another.

Suddenly, Dean was tugged behind an edifice's corner and Benny's hand was slapped over his mouth so as to quiet the protest that would have passed his lips. Dean glared at him but then understood that danger was near as Benny silently gestured him to be quiet. Castiel was peaking around the corner, attempting to recognize whoever it was walking around.

"Anyone we know?" Dean whispered after a moment.

Castiel shook his head. "No." he whispered back, "They appear to want to find a place to rest. Apparently they spent the entire night walking around."

"Are they carrying anything useful?" Benny asked quietly.

Castiel peaked around the corner again, briefly examining the tributes. "No."

He pulled away and stood upright, looking at Benny and Dean as though expecting orders or directions. Dean seemed rather surprised by being looked at as a sort of commander or leader. He looked at Benny and found that he too was staring at him with the same expression as Castiel.

"Do we jump them?" Benny finally asked.

"They don't seem heavily armed." Castiel stated before peaking back at the duo, "Actually, they don't seem to be carrying anything at all."

"We'd have a fair chance." Benny informed.

Dean was shocked. Even though he had killed a tribute only a few hours ago, he had done it out of self-defence but now, the men he travelled with were asking him to potentially lead an assault. Dean wasn't exactly sure why the idea of such a thing repulsed him however, most of it was likely attributed to the fact they'd be killing defenseless people. Neither of the two tributes would have a chance to escape the situation with their lives because they were so severely disadvantaged.

"They seem to be arguing." Castile reported.

"We could easily sneak through the other buildings and gank them." Benny stated, "They won't even know what hit them."

"Enough." Dean finally said. He peaked around the corner to his turn and watched the two idiots bicker at themselves. "We'll leave them be."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Benny asked, "What if they end up killing your brother or another of your allies? They'll have to die anyway—"

"No." Dean interrupted, his tone firm and resolved. "They're defenseless and stupid and we have nothing to gain. They're not worth it."

"You won't always be able to be merciful." Benny warned.

"I know." Dean snapped, "And I also know that they'll die anyhow but it won't be by our hand. Now let's go."

"They're blocking our path." Castiel noted. "We'll either have to double back or move towards the center to get around them safely."

"We'll move towards the center." Dean concluded and lead the way, "We'll have to stay on our guards. Most of the fuckers will probably be around that area."

And so they wordlessly followed Dean, swerving down the broken streets and occasionally searching for hidden provisions in buildings. As they moved towards the center of the arena, they found that the buildings began reaching a generally steady height and were also much less spaced out then they had previously been. Vines had generally been enveloping the buildings in the sector and they were so thick that Dean was nearly certain he and his companions could climb them without breaking them. He reckoned it was convenient, especially if they had to escape the immediate area quickly.

An hour or so passed before two canon shots were fired and the tributes in the arena were reduced to twenty-three. Benny hypothesise the two bozos they had met before had been the ones to fall though they would only know for sure at midnight. Thus they continued towards the center at a leisure pace and eventually stopped to rest at roughly noon. They ate a few of the blackcurrants Castiel had been lugging around since they'd left the forest, Dean gagging as he swallowed them. The small berries had barely done anything to help satiate their growling stomachs and all three were horribly thirsty.

"If this keeps up…" Dean groaned, leaning against a wall, "We're going to die—"

And just as he finished his sentence, Benny noticed a parachute gently fall to the ground outside their building. The three were thus on high alert, hoping the gift was for them but also fearing the possibility that another tribute was in the area. Dean approached the parachuted-object cautiously, carefully peering around the area before snatching it quickly and just as rapidly returning to his mates. They waited for an instant, expecting to hear another tribute approach their location but, after a while, heard no sign of movement. Dean then decided it was safe to open the gift and nearly cried upon seeing its content. There were three large leather gourds filled with water.

The things were quickly passed around and drunken greedily. All three had emptied about half of its content before stopping themselves as to save the rest for later. Luckily the gourds had straps on them which allowed the three to attach them to the hem of their pants.

"Is there anything else?" Benny asked.

"Just a letter." Dean said and pulled it out, "It says it's for Cas."

Castiel took the letter, reading the small message left within. "Gabriel is still alive and he's with Joanna." He informed, unable to repress a relieved smile. "My brother Balthazar sent this."

"Kiss him for me when either of you get out of this mess." Benny said, "I've never thought water could taste so delicious."

Castiel and Dean snickered at the comment before slowly quieting and relaxing for a bit. They sat under the protection of the ruined building they found, finding comfort and refreshment in the cool shade. And for a moment Dean was almost able to forget he was in the middle of a death match with a bunch of strangers from different districts. He felt so comfortable with Castiel and Benny by his side and he strongly believed he could have been great friends with the both of them under entirely different circumstances. Though, in the end, he was glad to have met them.

"We need to think of a strategy." Benny said after a moment. "You're both looking for people and it won't be easy what with the arena being so big. Chances are you'll never see them again if we don't think of something."

"It's not like we can leave messages behind to tell them where we'll be." Dean sighed, "The other tributes will see them and most likely try to find us so they can kill us. Plus, there's no guarantee they'll even see the messages."

"Didn't you all have a strategy to find each other?" Benny asked, "I mean you must have discussed something."

"We didn't think we'd be separated by twenty miles." Dean stated, "We thought we would see each other and, once the game would begin, we could run in the same direction and work together from there."

"I suppose none of us could have seen _this_ coming." Benny reckoned with a weary sigh.

"How did you and your sister find each other?" Castiel asked.

"Pure luck, I guess." Benny shrugged, "We really just happened upon each other, but there's got to be an easier way to find people."

"We could try climbing the buildings." Castiel suggested after a moment, "We can easily hop from one roof to another especially in this area since everything's so close together. Moving at a higher point will allow us better sight on our surroundings and a generally more protected approached unless the other tributes are armed with long range weapons."

"We'll be exposed." Benny noted, "We might as well be higher than everyone else, they'll be able to see us faster than we can see them."

"The time it'll take for them to climb up onto the roof will be ample to distance ourselves." Castiel stated. "By the time they get to our level, we should technically be rather far away and they'll be as exposed as we are. We'll thus be able to see them just as easily and so planning an escape route will be easier and more effective."

"You're not as dumb as I thought you would be." Benny smirked. "Capitol's making a pretty good point."

"My name is Castiel." Castiel mumbled.

"Then we'll do just that." Dean concluded with a sharp nod.

They left the building through a gaping hole in the back and climbed the thick vines. Once on the roof, they jogged around, Dean and Castiel looking on opposite sides of the buildings they crossed whereas Benny kept an eye on their rear view. The area remained clear for a few hours until Dean decided to alter their route. They had barely been running for fifteen minutes when an unpleasant voice boomed loudly from the street below.

"Well if it isn't Winchester!" Dick Roman sneered from his position. Dean glared at him and stopped, allowing Castiel and Benny to join his side. Dick had been one of the many tributes to threaten and challenge Sam and Dean during the two weeks of training. He had promised he would fine Dean somewhere in the arena and would be the one to end him. "I see you're with your bitch and you've found a third party for a potential threesome. How lovely for you."

"Fuck off Dick." Dean barked.

"I don't think so, Winchester." Dick said tauntingly, "You see, in the Hunger Games you need to kill the others in order to win. Get where I'm going with this, princess?"

Benny noticed Dean twitch at the name-calling and was quick to grab his shoulder to keep him from doing anything rash. "He's trying to provoke you." Benny stated, "And it's working. You need to cool your head and think of this rationally—"

"Why don't you come down here and join me, eh Winchester?" Dick insisted, opening his arms wide as he offered his challenge. "We'll deal with this like real men!"

"You shouldn't—" Castiel quickly said, grabbing a hold of Dean's arm just as he was about to pull away. "He's a good fighter, potentially superior to your abilities. If you go down there, you'll be at a disadvantage."

"Let's just make a run for it." Benny suggested.

"You said we couldn't spare everyone." Dean reminded, "The two others were idiots and weren't worth our attention, but Dick is."

"Dick is _smart_." Benny reminded, "He knows exactly how to push your buttons and if you let your anger or pride get the best of you, you'll surely die."

"We _can't_ let him go." Dean hissed, "I wasn't worried about the other two if they ever found Sam, Jo or Ash but Dick is different. We need to kill him to protect the others."

"Dean—!" Castiel suddenly shouted. He shoved both Dean and Benny aside, allowing them to narrowly avoid Edgar's – Dick's brother – knife but he wasn't so lucky. The knife had nicked his arm.

"Did you get them?" Dick shouted.

"No," Edgar sighed, licking the blood on the knife with a sickly grin, "Capitol noticed me first."

Benny kicked Edgar's legs quickly, causing him to fall to his knees. "Let's go!" he shouted and grabbed both Castiel and Dean as he began to run.

The two followed Benny's lead, leaping from building to building in a desperate attempt to lose Dick and Edgar. At the current moment however, Edgar was far more of a threat than his psychotic brother seeing as he managed to sneak to their level without any of them noticing. As they ran, they could hear the manic cackling of the siblings hunting them down.

"We need a plan!" Benny shouted.

"I'm thinking!" Dean snapped, he then pulled the colt from his pants and decided to shoot at Edgar twice. He tripped in surprise, tumbling into one of the cracks between the edifices but Dean noticed his hand gripping the edge. He was still alive but the stunt had bought them some time even if the bullets had missed.

"Shit! He has a gun!" Edgar yelled as he hoisted himself back up.

And for a moment Dean thought that Dick was discouraged from continuing his hunt, "This'll be way more fun than I thought!" He cackled loudly.

"Here—" Castiel said and grabbed Benny and Dean's hands, leading them down into a building.

They ran down the first flight of stairs, stopping after they descended two floors and following Castiel as he searched for a place for them to hide. "This isn't going to work!" Dean hissed, "They'll find us in a few seconds—"

"This is strategic!" Castiel insisted. "We'll hide around in this room, guarding the doors and windows, and jump them the second we see them. It's our only hope!"

"No! We can run!" Dean said, "Hell, we _should_ run! Benny was right, I didn't think of this reasonably."

"If we run, they'll tire us out and kill us." Castiel stated, "We need to stand our ground and be smart about attacking. Your colt is our biggest advantage at the moment. They don't seem to have any long distance weapons and so the gun we'll keep them at a distance which means you should be at the furthest end of the room. Benny and I will stand next to each door, ready to strike if you so happen to miss them."

Dean didn't seem convinced, "We don't have time to argue about this—" he tried but was interrupted by the sound of rushed steps echoing in the building's stair well. "Fuck!"

"You're right, we don't." Castiel concluded quickly, making his way to the other entrance while Dean found cover behind a desk. "So just do as I say and we might get out of this alive."

Dean frowned as he assessed their position and tactic. Castiel had thought it through efficiently and their positions were generally intelligent. However, what bothered Dean the most were the weapons. Castiel had a knife which they had collected from tributes in the forest whereas Benny only had a thick branch. They knew for a fact that Edgar wielded a knife while they were unaware if Dick was armed. It was thus logical to assume that Benny would most likely be at a severe disadvantage when confronting whoever passed through the door.

Nonetheless, it was too late to back out now and Dean took a deep breath, calming his trembling as much as he could so as to avoid missing his shots. Things quickly quieted themselves within the structure and only the heavy pulsing of his heart was audible to Dean. He needed to be on the highest of alert, ready to react immediately upon seeing whoever emerged through whichever entrance first. He could feel his palms begin to coat themselves with a thin layer of sweat rendering the weapon a tad slippery. He took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself when he saw Edgar appear in the doorframe Castiel had been hiding next to. He reacted immediately, pulling the trigger twice and landing two bullets in Edgar's chest.

The tribute fell to the floor, lifeless and stunned. However, Dean barely had time to relax as he saw Castiel dart towards Benny who had been jumped by Dick. Everything had happened so fast and everyone struggled to keep track of everything. Benny swung his branch at Dick who, in turn, managed to block it before plunging his dagger into the other's stomach. Castiel had caught Benny as he fell whereas Dean shot Dick until all the bullets in the gun had lodged himself in his corpse out of pure rage.

Dean then threw himself to his knees by Benny's side and desperately looked at the wound and then at Castiel. "Do something!" he demanded. "Fix him!"

"I-I don't know how…" Castiel stuttered helplessly. "We don't have the means…"

"It's okay." Benny chuckled, pausing when he began coughing up blood, "I was meant to die anyway. After Elizabeth was killed, I didn't want to go back to our empty crap-hole. It's better this way."

Dean was torn. On one hand, Benny spoke truly and his death was necessary to returning home but on the other hand, he was his friend. He didn't care that they had only met a day ago, they had had each other's backs since then and looked out for one another. They were friends and now Benny was dying.

"No, we can…" Dean insisted, at a loss of what to do, "We can…"

"Stop it, Dean." Benny sighed. "I want to die so let me die. It was great having met you, even you, Capitol."

"Castiel…" the other insisted, his voice choked.

"Hm," Benny grinned bloodily, "You were good to me when you had no cause to be and I'll never forget that. Now if you could just finish this up quickly…"

Castiel and Dean exchanged looks. Accomplishing the task was a heavy burden to undertake but Benny was their friend and he didn't deserve to suffer at the very end of all things. Seeing as Dean was too emotionally overwhelmed by everything, Castiel was the one to reluctantly point the tip of his weapon above Benny's heart. He looked at him one last time for approval and earned a smile.

"Thank you, brother." He said.

Castiel shut his eyes tightly and plunged the knife as fast and hard as he could into Benny's heart. He gasped and the life he once had flickered out of his eyes as he laid now limply in Castiel's arms. The canons fired three shots and after that everything was silent and immobile for what felt like forever. Castiel's eyes were stuck to Benny's lifeless visage whereas Dean's glare was focused out the window. Finally, he snapped and began trashing what furniture there was in the room out of anger in regards to how helpless he was.

Castiel allowed him to free his anger while he gently laid Benny's corpse to the ground and closed his eyes. He only turned to face Dean as he fell to the floor and began sobbing. Neither really understood why Dean had reacted so violently to the death of Benny but he had. Castiel placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and remained silent until Dean managed to maintain himself.

"We have to go." Castiel said softly.

Dean slowly got up to his feet, helped by Castiel and waited in the next room as he looted the corpses. He took the two knives Dick and Edgar had as well as the few snacks they had found. He also collected the gourd from Benny and attached it to the other he already had before joining Dean again. The latter then lead the way out of the building quietly without sparring a gaze at Castiel. They continued to walk in the direction they initially had been following around the perimeter, hiding a few times from unknown tributes, not bothering a confrontation when they no longer had the need.

Like the previous night, they stopped in a crumbled building, hiding behind debris for cover and watched together as the name of those who had died during the second day were displayed above the center of the arena. Dean winced and gritted his teeth upon seeing Benny's face and Castiel placed a comforting hand over his. He was quite surprised to see Dean respond by intertwining their fingers together.


	14. Reunited

Since their earlier encounter with the tributes in the morning, Sam and Ruby had luckily avoided any other possible threats. They wandered through the ruins of the arena, looking for anything useful for some time when they heard the echoes of gun shots sometime after noon. They had stopped everything they had been doing to listen carefully for any nearby movement before slowly regrouping. They whispered frantically, deducing their odds against a hostile tribute with a gun and found their chances to be rather low. Thus they decided to remain in their current position for a few hours, keeping an eye on their surroundings before beginning to move again.

Thus they had spent a large portion of the afternoon waiting nervously for a dangerous tribute to pass by. When nothing happened after then, Sam and Ruby decided to continue moving and enter a different sector of the arena. They quickly arrived to an area where the buildings were scarcely spaced and covered in thick vines. They looked around wearily, hating the many windows each of them bore and tensing at the thought of an adversary sneaking up on them.

"Wait." Ruby said, stopping Sam who immediately raised his weapon. She gestured the top of an alley way, "Look at the vines there."

"They're torn from where they once were." Sam deduced immediately. "Which means someone climbed there."

"No, I think they fell." Ruby said, "The vines are solidly anchored into the buildings and so wouldn't have been ripped so easily." Ruby then moved to the alley, looking at the top before looking back at Sam. "I think we should go check it out."

"I don't know." Sam shifted, unsure, "What if this had to do with the tribute with a gun?"

"Then we should check to see who they killed." Ruby concluded and began to climb the wall, "We need to make sure they're none of our own."

Sam watched her climb the wall about half way before joining her. It was as Ruby said, the vines were solidly glued to the building and barely budged beneath his weight. They quickly found themselves on the roof with no bodies to be seen immediately. They looked around, assessing in which direction they would investigate next when Ruby noticed an open door a few roofs away. They made their way to that specific building and descended the stair well, stopping once they crossed another open door, giving way on the second last floor.

They cautiously walked around, searching every room for a hidden tribute when they finally stumbled upon a room with three dead bodies. "Dick and Edgar Roman." Ruby said, pointing at the two corpses with gunshot wounds. "They were from my district. No idea who's the third one though."

Sam knelt beside him and looked over his wounds, "Whoever he was," he said, "He was stabbed twice. Once in the stomach and another time straight in the heart. I think he was the tribute with a gun's friend or something."

"Why do you say that?" Ruby asked, peering over Sam's shoulder.

"Look at the way he's placed." Sam said, standing, "His eyes are closed and his expression seems overall peaceful. Dick and Edgar's faces are petrified in a less peaceful way. Everything suggests he was friends with the one who killed the other two."

"Great work, Sherlock." Ruby snorted, "Check his body for anything useful."

They found nothing of use and concluded that the survivor of the attack had taken everything useful. The sun was beginning to set at the given point and Sam and Ruby decided to travel just a bit more until night had actually fallen and could barely see anything anymore. They rummaged a couple of buildings within the area before moving on.

The next sector they had gotten to with the very last light of the given day was filled with crumbling buildings. The only things left standing were the skeletons and one of the four outer walls. They quickly found a suitable building, the less destroyed within the immediate vicinity and stayed there for the night. Later, at midnight, they learned that the third tribute they had found lying dead on the ground was Benny Lafitte from district 11.

* * *

This time Sam and Ruby got up at first light without incident. They packed their things and continued to explore the area with the ruined buildings. It almost seemed as though bombs had gone off, destroying the many structures present or at least weakening them greatly. Nonetheless, they found that their surroundings were strangely quiet – too quiet. Eventually they halted and looked around suspiciously, neither of them were particularly comfortable and felt as though someone was watching them or that danger was near.

Suddenly, a parachute appeared out of nowhere, fluttering down a few blocks in front of them. Sam and Ruby immediately retreated behind one of the many piles of crumbled bricks. The fallen gift had been much too far away to be meant for either of them and so the logical conclusion was that there were other tributes in the area.

"We'll sneak up on them." Ruby declared.

"How?" Sam asked, "And what if it's the tribute with a gun?"

"Damn…that's true…" Ruby sighed. She remained quiet for a moment when she suddenly got an idea. She grabbed a rock and waited for the tribute in question to emerge from wherever he was hiding then she threw a rock. As soon as it hit the ground, its sound echoing painfully loud, the tribute immediately froze, pulling his gun from his pants.

"Shit." Sam hissed, hiding behind the rubble again, "What do we do now? He's going to come this way to make sure no one's here…"

"We'll split up." Ruby declared. "I'm pretty good at stealth so I'll try to sneak around him. I'll give you a signal or something so keep your eyes peeled. When I do, you'll have to jump out of your hiding spot and distract him so that he doesn't notice me running at him from behind."

Sam nodded and Ruby was off immediately. He carefully peaked over his hiding spot and the tribute was, indeed, walking in their general direction. Sam's heart began beating heavily in anticipation; so far the tribute with a gun was the biggest threat they had faced and he hoped they could best him. In the end, he figured it was necessary. The tribute had a very dangerous weapon and knew how to use it, he could easily kill Dean, Ash or Joanna, which was something Sam felt he had to stop at all costs. Thus he began preparing himself mentally, looking above his hiding spot every now and again. When the tribute was but a block away, Sam noticed Ruby sneaking across the road, only making an accidental sound once finding cover in a building on the opposite side of the street.

The tribute heard the sound and was about to investigate it further when Sam recklessly decided that it was time to emerge. If he had allowed the tribute to investigate the sound he heard thus discovering Ruby, their plan would have been flopped quickly. Sam didn't have the means to assault the tribute with a gun properly with his rusty pipe as sole weapon. And so, he mindlessly ran into the road with a yell to attract the tribute's attention. However, he quickly interrupted himself and lowered the weapon he was holding quizzically. The tribute almost looked like—

"Dean—?"

Ruby suddenly dashed out of the edifice she had entered a few moments ago with the intent to kill. Sam began to panic, yelling for her to stop since she obviously didn't recognize Dean. Castiel had been hiding a building a head of Ruby's location and managed to knock her over before she was able to plunge her machete into Dean's back. It had been Castiel's quick thinking that had spared Dean's life.

Dean turned back with shock and gave Castiel a grateful look. When he looked back at Sam, the other instantly collided with him, embracing him tightly. He took a moment to respond, surprised by the dumb luck that had reunited him with Sam.

"Oh my god, Sammy…" Dean breathed, holding Sam tightly, "I've been looking all over for you…"

"Same." Sam said.

After a long moment, they finally separated and looked each other over. "You're not hurt are you?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine." He assured, "What about you?"

"Cas was the only one to actually sustain any real form of damage." Dean said, pointing at his companion, "Edgar nicked him but the cut wasn't that bad. We managed to fix him up with what we had."

Sam smiled as he noticed Castiel and briefly hugged him as he greeted him. "When did you two find each other?" he asked.

"Around the beginning." Dean answered. "He was the first person I encountered. What about you? Who's the chick?"

"Ruby." Ruby hissed.

The name suddenly ignited Dean's memories of her. Sam had wanted her to join their ranks but they had ultimately refused her though he couldn't really remember why. "Oh." He frowned and suddenly pulled Sam away for a bit of privacy, "Didn't we agree _not_ to team up with her?" he whispered.

"Dean! She saved my life so many times!" Sam snapped. "I think that proves she's not like the others!"

Dean rolled his eyes, glaring at Ruby before finally sighing in defeat, "Fine, whatever." Dean growled and headed back to where the parachute was at. It was still blatantly obvious that he didn't trust her but that he would tolerate her for Sam. "Welcome to the team." He told Ruby as he passed by her.

"You don't _seem_ very welcoming." She muttered mainly to herself.

"Don't mind him." Sam said as they followed Dean and Castiel.

"So how did you two actually manage to get sponsors?" Ruby asked, "Especially you, Capitol."

"Don't call me that." Castiel replied tensely, the name evidently reminding him of something painfully fresh.

"Cas's brother." Dean answered, "He sent us some water and speaking of which…" he unhooked the gourd around his waist and tossed it at Sam. "Drink up, brother."

Sam caught it and hastily opened it, taking a few large gulps before passing it to Ruby who finished it. They then handed it back to Dean who tied it back to the hem of his pants before reaching down for the capsule. He twisted it open and found two extra gourds of water and a few energy bars which they separated amongst themselves. Dean then handed the message to Castiel as it was, yet again, from Balthazar.

"Gabriel and Joanna are literally on the other side of the arena." Castiel informed, crumpling the paper, "If we want to get to them before the worse happens, we'll need to cross through the center."

"Wait." Sam interrupted, "How do you know that?"

Castiel showed him the crumpled message, "My brother told me." He explained.

"We get tips from Cas's older brother." Dean elaborated, "The first time we got a thing from him, he told us that Gabriel and Jo were alive."

"But how does _he_ know?" Ruby asked.

"He's probably watching the Games." Castiel mused.

"Well, _that's_ pretty useful." Ruby said with a huff. "So what do we do, then?"

"If we don't cross the center it's likely we'll never see Gabriel and Jo ever again." Dean stated, "So I guess we have no other choice."

"It's likely that Balthazar is also sending Gabriel supplies and information." Castiel said, "He'll probably be heading for the center as well."

"Alright, that's what we'll do." Dean concluded, "Any objections?"

Ruby and Sam exchanged looks before shaking heads.

"Then let's go."


	15. Center

Dean handed one of the extra knives to Sam and Ruby exchanged her machete for the other. He hesitated initially, maintaining that her weapon was far superior to some small, petty dagger. However Ruby insisted that she would be more useful with a knife seeing as she specialised with them and, with Sam glaring at him to comply, he begrudgingly accepted the trade. Dean tied the machete around his waist and kept his gun in hand as they quickly went though the way they would go about approaching the center of the arena.

There was a fair chance that the threat they feared – which was an abundance of tributes – had passed and moved on to different points in the arena. However, Dean insisted that the location could have possibly been strategic and that the ones responsible for the massacre that took place in the general location had set a camp or base of some sort. If it was the case, the matter of whether they should clear the location or not, _if_ they found themselves capable to do so, was addressed. Ruby opted for the annihilation of those potentially camping the area seeing as they would eventually be a problem they would have to deal with either way. Sam, to Dean's surprise, supported Ruby's view.

Though Dean did understand the need to rid themselves of the potential adversaries, a part of him just couldn't accept or deal with killing the tributes. They had most likely done their fair share of killing what with the bloodbath that had taken place a couple of hours after the beginning of the Games, and yet the thought simply unnerved Dean. It wasn't as though he hadn't killed anyone – actually, he'd killed three tributes since the beginning of the event – but it had been out of self-defence. The tributes that were hypothetically camping around the center of the arena hadn't yet provoked or attacked them and so organising an assault made Dean incredibly uncomfortable. He didn't condone useless killing and yet, as Ruby kept insisting, they would have to deal with them sooner or later.

"Our priority is to regroup with the others." Dean eventually maintained, "We'll find Gabriel and Jo and then decide what to do about the others _if_ there are actually others."

"What if they see us and attack?" Ruby asked.

"Then we defend ourselves." Dean concluded bluntly, "As simple as that."

Thus they were on their way. Sam and Dean walked in the back, keeping an eye on any would-be threats suddenly appearing from the rear whereas Ruby and Castiel were charged with the front. Dean wouldn't admit to it but part of the reason he had sent Ruby to the front and remained in the back was to keep an eye on her. He was grateful that she had saved his brother and perhaps he was judging her a tad too harshly but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Seeing as the back was technically their most vulnerable position to begin, Dean wouldn't have been particularly comfortable seeding to place to anyone else.

"So..." Sam said in a hushed voice after an hour of walking. "You got Dick and Edgar…"

"Yeah." Dean responded simply, clearly bothered by something in regards to the mentioned event.

"Well…?" Sam asked, expecting further details.

"Well what?" Dean asked a bit aggressively.

"How did you do it?" Sam sighed, "I know you had a gun but how the hell did you outsmart them?"

"It was Cas's idea." Dean said after a moment, his eyes resting on Castiel's back, "Me and Benny wanted to keep running but Cas's said that it would only delay our deaths. So he dragged us into a building and brought us to the furthest edge of the second to last floor and said we had to stand our ground. I was behind a desk, for cover, and Cas and Benny were hiding next to the two entrances. I managed to get Edgar before he got close to Cas but Dick got further and stabbed Benny before I could get to him."

"And Benny…who was he?" Sam asked, remembering the third corpse they found lying on the floor.

"A friend." Dean said simply for the longest time before adding the explanation his brother sought, "There's a forest, somewhere back there."

"Yeah, me and Ruby went around." Sam stated with a nod.

"Well, me and Cas went in." Dean explained, "We were starving and thought we could find some fruits and maybe some water or something. Cas found these nasty berries – I think he still has some in his pockets – but anyways, we ate them and then some tribute jumped out of nowhere. He probably would have gotten me if Benny hadn't jumped in and killed him. Me and Cas took care of the other two, we asked him to join us and he said yes."

"Why?" Sam asked as though Dean was saying absolute folly.

"His sister died." Dean said bluntly, "He said he had nothing else to live for and had nothing waiting for him back home. I don't think he expected to win anyhow."

"And you trusted him based off _just_ that?" Sam asked incredulously, "Dean, he could have killed you."

"Could have, maybe should have but didn't." Dean snapped, "Anyway, it doesn't matter now since he's dead."

"Did you kill him?" Sam continued and noticed Dean flinch. "We saw the second stab wound."

"How do you know it wasn't the first?" Dean fired back.

"Well he would have died instantly what with being stabbed in the heart," Sam said logically, "So the other stab wound to the stomach would have been pretty random and unnecessary."

Dean remained quiet for a while. Talking about what had happened only reminded Dean of how cruel and unjust the Games truly were. "Cas did it." He finally said. "I couldn't…even when he asked to die…"

Sam looked at Sam's back, his head was hanging slightly lower than usual and it was rather obvious that he had been eavesdropping. It had seemed that the event had also left some sort of scar. They had only spent a day or so with Benny and yet within those hours they had managed to trust him with their lives and see him as something as intimate as a friend. Granted, some people had a tendency to befriend literally anyone they ever came across immediately but Sam knew Dean wasn't such a person and that he would have been extremely cautious in their given circumstances.

"That's weird." Sam said after a moment.

"What is?" Dean asked, peering back behind them and then looking at the roof of the surrounding buildings.

"That you trusted him so much." Sam specified.

"This game'll change you in ways you'd never expect." Dean merely said and the conversation was left at that.

They continued walking for a few hours, crossing paths with no suspicious people and occasionally scavenging a few buildings in the hope of finding a stray duffle bag or something with a functioning water source. They had lucked out on the both of them which wasn't entirely horrible since they did still have _some_ food and water left.

It was around noon when they finally reached the center of the arena and were presented with a most gruesome sight. The many buildings that had been covering most of the arena suddenly stopped and gave out on a large clearing. No trees grew in said clearing and, for some reason, the plant life in that particular area was tamed. There were clean concrete walkways leading to the very center where a functioning fountain laid splashing water around in abundance. The sight of it would have rejoiced them if the water hadn't been red.

The bodies of so many tributes laid in the bottom basin, polluting the likely only fresh water source available in the entire arena with their rotting corpse and blood. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that they had been mangled, beaten savagely before having been tossed aside. A trail of crimson horror travelled from the edge of the basin and then towards a small park consisting for two swings and a slide encompassed in a block of sand. Sitting on the swing-set was a little girl covered in red from head to toe: Lilith.

They approached the scene, generally following Ruby. It seemed straight out of some horror story adults told children so as to bestow the consequences of certain actions. Sam, Dean and Castiel were frozen in place, terrified by what the evidence suggested inches away from the little park in which Lilith played. Ruby, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered by all of it and walked towards her little sister, sitting next to her on the swing set.

"Did you kill all of them?" Ruby asked in a tone generally used by disapproving parents in regards to small yet significant actions.

"Yep." Lilith said with a wide and proud smile. "Dumped them all in the fountain with the bags the organizers left here."

"Did anyone else bother you after that?" Ruby asked.

"Nope." Lilith answered with a sweet and yet creepy giggle. "A few tributes tried to steal the stuff I put in the fountain but they got scared when they saw me."

"What the fuck…" Dean finally breathed. Lilith had been given a rating of 2/10 and yet she had taken roughly ten tributes on her own without so much as receiving a scratch. He couldn't fathom how such a sweet and innocent looking girl was capable of such carnage.

The horrified words escaping Dean's mouth attracted Lilith's attention. At first the little girl glared at them but her face livened upon seeing Castiel. "You brought Angel!" she chirped.

"Yes I did." Ruby smirked, looking at Castiel. The evil intent she harboured was now painfully evident. "I almost didn't resist killing him on the way here."

"I would have been mad if you hadn't." Lilith said, hopping off her swing. "I wanted to kill him."

"Ruby…?" Sam said slowly.

"Sorry to disappoint Sam." She said with a wide grin, "But I'm not really different from the others. I wanted Capitol and Senior dead just as much as the others."

Dean immediately grabbed Castiel, pulling him behind him as to protect him. He quickly pulled out his gun, wielding the machete Ruby had given him in his spare him. "Stay the fuck back." He hissed.

"He has a _gun_!?" Lilith said with exaggerated awe. "I want it."

"Sorry, I ain't sharing." Dean hissed.

"Ruby…" Sam tried, taking a tentative step forward with his hands raised, "This doesn't have to be like this…"

"Face the facts, Sam." Ruby sighed, "We're in the _Hunger Games_. You might as well be a sweet and lovable guy but to get out of this alive, it's literally you or me. It's not personal, it's just the rules."

"Then why did you spare me!?" Sam snapped, "You could have killed me so many times!"

"You said it yourself," she remarked, "We were more useful to the other alive than dead seeing as an extra pair of eyes and hands was necessary to our getting to this point. Though, to be fair, I did try to have you get killed a couple of times."

"_What_!?" Sam asked, gritting his teeth.

"Oh come on," Ruby said sounding completely exasperated, "You can't possibly be _that_ blind! That morning when you found yourself alone and was virtually defenseless when those tributes stormed the room? Do you not remember that I had taken _everything_ including the rusty pipe you had been using? I only killed the other guy when you totally clobbered the first one with your fists. And then when we first confronted your brother who was armed with a gun? The only outcome that was possible if your brother hadn't been your brother was that you'd get shot and I'd get the opportunity to kill him without dying."

"I-I trusted you!" Sam stuttered out of anger.

"Didn't I tell you that that would get you killed?" Ruby chuckled.

"Sam…" Dean warned, reaching to grip his brother so as to keep him from doing anything rash.

"Tell you what," Ruby said, taking a step forward but stopping immediately as Dean pointed the gun at her, "We'll spare the two of you for now if you give us Capitol."

"We want Angel!" Lilith declared like a spoiled brat.

"You're not getting him." Dean growled, moving his reach to behind so as to make sure Castiel was still there. "Now we're going to leave and you're not going to come after us, understand?"

"I want Angel!" Lilith growled stubbornly.

"You're not leaving this place unless we allow it." Ruby declared. "I know for a fact that you can't shoot the both of us dead before we get to you. Now of course Lilith's keen fighting abilities may have taken you aback and you may consider taking her down first. However, if Lilith is capable of such damage on her own at such a young age, what do you think I'm capable of?"

"Dean…" Castiel finally said softly, attempting to move from behind his protector.

"Cas, I already said no!" Dean growled. "I'm not letting you die."

"You could get away…" Castiel offered.

"And what makes you think we can believe her when she says she'll let us go?" Dean barked, "She's a lying manipulative bitch and we never should have trusted her."

"That's so hurtful." Ruby responded with mocked pain. "Oh well, your choice—"

Joanna suddenly appeared out of nowhere, swinging her weapon at Ruby's head. Ruby had managed to block the attack at the last second but not without sustaining important damage to her arm. Joanna immediately jumped back, joining Gabriel's side. She was wielding a spear which Dean thought to be quite comical but had no time to dabble on it. He quickly aimed his gun at Ruby, ready to kill, when Lilith knocked the weapon out of his grip. She was surprisingly fast.

"I want _Angel_!" She hissed.

"Well tough!" Dean snapped, "He's _mine_!"

Lilith shouted in anger and shoved Dean to the ground with a powerful push. Turned out she was astonishingly strong as well. Nonetheless, Dean jumped back up to his feet and ran for the gun but was beaten by the unexpectedly strong and fast little girl that had been at the center of a bloodbath. She tossed the gun as far as she could and Dean's heart dropped as it landed in the fountain of blood and corpses.

"We need to go!" Sam declared quickly, tugging Dean's arm which had also caused him to evade one of Lilith's punches. "Jo—"

"On it!" She retorted, jumping back to avoid Ruby's knife before grabbing a hold of Gabriel and running.

Ruby made a gesture to commence pursuit but was stopped by Lilith. None of them ever really knew why or cared to, they just knew that the harmless little girl was truly a monster in disguise and that the sisters were an enemy to be reckoned with. They also had every weapon and equipment to their disposal, ditched in the fountain of corpses and blood.

Sam, Dean, Castiel, Joanna and Gabriel ran for what felt like hours. They swerved down the streets, nearly tripping over the thick roots littering their way. They finally stopped when Sam leapt into a building with a door and closed it behind them as they filled the place hastily. Once the door was closed, they hurried to use whatever things were left inside so block it before crumbling to the floor and catching their breaths again.

"What a psycho bitch." Gabriel huffed.

"Who? Ruby?" Dean asked.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "Lilith."


	16. Rest

The group had decided to stay in the edifice where they had found refuge for the rest of the day and night. They had no reason to leave the area seeing as Gabriel and Jo had a bag full of food and water sent to them by Balthazar. Sam, Dean and Castiel still had a bit of food from when they had met up but most of it had been taken away by Ruby seeing as she had been the one carrying the bag where they had placed most of it. Luckily, Dean and Castiel had decided to keep the gourds attached to their waist so if there was one thing Ruby was missing, it was water.

"So how did you guys find each other?" Sam asked Joanna as they cleared a spot to sleep.

"By chance." Joanna answered looking over at Gabriel and smirking, "The idiot was wandering around the arena nonchalantly and would have been killed if I hadn't gone to him. There were two tributes surrounding him, threatening to kill him savagely and he didn't even try to defend himself."

"I'm a bit of a pacifist." Gabriel chimed in with a joke.

"That'll get you killed here." Joanna retorted, her grin never fading. During the time she had spent with Gabriel, it was evident that they had become quite close. Sam wasn't exactly sure why that bothered him a bit. "Anyway, I had a spear next to my pod so I took it and basically killed the two tributes with it. We've been stuck together ever since."

"So you got the two first kills?" Dean asked, "How stupid did they look when you kicked their asses?"

"It was pretty satisfying." Joanna admitted with a grin.

"Did you run into anymore tributes at some point?" Sam asked.

"Not really." Joanna said, "I guess we were just lucky that way. We did come across Crowley and Gordon, bickering at each other. We eavesdropped for a bit before sneaking off but we've had no confrontations since the beginning."

"Or rather until we decided to meet with you at the center." Gabriel corrected. "You guys just brought a wave of trouble with you."

Sam lowered his head and turned away, "Sorry…" he mumbled guiltily.

"Hey, I was just joking." Gabriel said quickly as to make light of the situation, "I mean, who would have known right?"

"In any case—" Dean interjected before Sam could take all of the blame, "It doesn't matter anymore. We can't do anything about it so we just have to live with it."

Sam dropped the matter and continued to clear the debris and plants with the help of Joanna when a cannon fire was heard. They all froze tensely, waiting to hear another one or anything else that would follow, but there had been nothing. Slowly they began to move again in total silence, wondering and hoping that Ruby or Lilith had been the victim.

As Sam and Joanna continued to clear the area and Gabriel watched for movement through the windows, Dean dragged Castiel away to investigate the rest of the building. They had to make sure that they were safe and that they knew about any other potential opening. Luckily, the walls were still properly held up and showed no signs of weakening on the main floor. They began to climb the stair well, not getting particularly far before encountering a tree. The thing had grown in such an odd place and position, it was a miracle that it managed to survive for who knows how long.

"Cas…" Dean finally said as Castiel climbed around the tree to continue their way up.

"Yes, Dean?" he said and extended his hand to help Dean around once he reached the other side.

Dean hesitantly took it and crossed over, "Why did Lilith call you 'angel'?"

The question had taken Castiel by surprise, "I-I…" he stammered before clearing his head, "I don't know."

He continued up the stairs, walking in on the second floor followed by Dean. "At first," Dean continued, "I thought it was just some sort of childish pet name. A bit like how everyone calls you 'Capitol' but for her, since she's younger and all, it'd be 'angel'."

"Perhaps that was the reason." Castiel dismissed and tried to move away but Dean caught him before.

"I don't think so." Dean insisted, his grip tightening as it became gradually more obvious that Castiel was hiding something, "See, I understand that she's young but she's incredibly smart. So if she really thought you just looked angelic or something she would have said 'the angel' rather than just 'angel'."

"What are you trying to say?" Castiel asked stiffly.

"I'm not trying to say anything." Dean stated, releasing Castiel, "I'm asking why."

Castiel hesitated. It almost seemed as though he was searching the room for some escape route as to avoid the question but, as it was, he was trapped. "You're sharper than I thought." He finally sighed in defeat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean nearly hissed.

"I didn't mean to insult you." Castiel apologized immediately, "I just didn't think that you would notice or mention what Lilith called me."

"So then, explain yourself." Dean demanded, crossing his arms above his chest.

"My name is Castiel Angel." Castiel introduced and watched as Dean's eyes widened at the implication of just the name. "I have many brothers and sisters though the most notable ones are Michael and Lucifer, presidents of Panem."

"W-what!?" Dean stuttered incredulously, "You can't be serious—"

"I am." Castiel confirmed.

"T-then why are you here!?" Dean nearly shouted. "Why…why aren't you at home or something!?"

"I couldn't…" Castiel mumbled.

"What do you mean!?" And Dean found his tone getting more aggressive. "You didn't _have to_ be here! You could have been somewhere safe!"

"No I couldn't Dean!" Castiel snapped. "I spent too many years watching kids my age just die in this stupid game! I tried to stop it! I tried to appeal to my brothers but they wouldn't listen just like every other year! I couldn't watch anymore, Dean!"

"So you decided to just jump in and join the carnage!?" Dean growled, "How is that going to help anyone!?"

"I-I don't know!" Castiel shouted and it was the first time he had ever raised his voice, "I thought…I thought I could get my brothers to understand! I thought that if I just participated, they would know how it felt to send a loved one to their deaths… A part of me thought it would work…that they would cancel them this year…but the other part knew that it wouldn't."

"You're so stupid." Dean breathed, clenching his fists. He looked utterly broken by the confession, "Why would you just give up your life like that?"

"For justice." Castiel insisted quietly, "It's not fair… I couldn't watch anymore Dean…I—"

Castiel was suddenly pulled into Dean's embrace. He held onto him tightly and it was at such a moment that Castiel realised he had been crying. How he despaired as he realized his attempts to save everyone had failed too badly to ever be redeemed. He would die in the arena just like forty-six other tributes and eventually be forgotten or erased by time.

"You're so stupid…" Dean whispered, holding Castiel tightly, "But I'll protect you…"

* * *

"Jeez, I wonder what's taking them so long." Gabriel said after a few moments.

"This building has a lot of floors to check." Joanna stated, "They'll probably be on their way down soon."

Silence fell upon the room as nothing more was exchanged. Gabriel continued to stare out the window in case anyone appeared whereas Sam and Joanna had finally seated themselves and were spreading all of their belongings on the floor. As it was, they had a couple of gourds, one empty, two that were half filled and a few completely full. Regarding food, they had what were left of the blackcurrants Castiel carried and a few energy bars. Weapon-wise, they had lost Dean's gun but still had the bullets, a machete, a spear and two knives. The only one of them that was unarmed was Gabriel but he didn't seem willing to fight or defend himself anyhow.

"We'll be good for the night, I guess." Sam sighed, "We won't get to each much though…"

"Well, they didn't call it the Hunger Games for no reason." Gabriel joked, smirking.

There was another pause during which Sam's gaze lingered on Gabriel. "Hey…" he finally said, "Why didn't you or Cas ever show up for, like, the interview or the evaluation?"

"Hm?" Gabriel said, looking back before shifting his gaze back to the window, "Our big brothers didn't want to."

"Big brothers?" Joanna asked, "How many siblings do you have?"

"A lot." Gabriel smirked.

"But why did your big brothers not want you to participate?" Sam probed.

"Because they didn't want to advertise our faces." Gabriel explained briefly, "Figured it would be too much trouble if people were able to recognize us."

"That's strange." Joanna commented.

"Why would it be too much trouble?" Sam continued.

"Because they're the presidents." Gabriel sneered.

"You're lying." Joanna said, "If that were true, you wouldn't be here right now."

"I assure you, it's a hundred percent true." Gabriel insisted, "And the only reason I'm here is because I didn't want to let Castiel do something stupid on his own."

"What?" Sam asked.

Gabriel sighed and turned away from the window as he slid onto the floor and began explaining everything. "Castiel's always been this rebellious kid, though you wouldn't think it because he's so quiet." Gabriel began. "He always fought for justice, believing that it was the Capitol's duty to protect the weak and the districts. He believed that the Capitol's reign of terror and violence was wrong and that things could be solved peacefully in the form of a democracy or something alike. Of course, our brothers and many historians weren't in accord with his way of thinking and proclaimed that, after whatever happened a hundred years ago, ruling in peace was impossible. Nonetheless, Cas kept fighting and insisting that it was possible and that our brothers were the idea governors to accomplish such a task." He paused and gazed absently at the space before him for some time before continuing. "Michael and Lucifer, though they wouldn't admit it, depended a lot on the good functioning of the family and normally did take in consideration our opinions. We were their advisors or something like that. However, the battle Cas currently fought had divided the family and begun a fight. So Michael and Lucifer took him aside and explained to him personally why what he was fighting for was futile and demanded he fix the mess he made. Cas obeyed half-heartedly. He was rolling with whatever our brothers told him to do when you, Sam, and your brother appeared on screen during the reaping. I'm not exactly sure what did him in and what gave him the idea to decide joining the Games was the only solution but that was that and here we are now."

"How did your brothers react?" Joanna asked, "I can't imagine they were acceptant."

"They weren't. They were incredibly pissed off." Gabriel smirked bitterly, "Uriel and Raphael had run to get our brothers as fast as they could, to warn them and stop us but they hadn't arrived in time. They interrupted whatever they were doing to confront me and Cas – mainly Cas. They told him to tell whoever was in charge that he was joking and that we weren't actually going to enter the Games. Cas refused. He said that it was only fair for the Capitol to send in two tributes after a hundred years. They bitched at him for a while but he wouldn't change his mind. So, eventually, Lucifer got fed up and said: "Fine. You can do whatever the hell you want and we won't stop you. What you're doing is stupid, suicidal and definitely not the way to deal with the situation. But since you won't listen to reason, you'll just have to figure it out the hard way." They then asked me to step down, saying that Cas would still be permitted to participate on his own regardless of the special rules. I'm not the best of brothers nor am I the most courageous person ever, but I love my brothers and sisters and wouldn't let them do something so stupid on their own, even if it was idiotic. You might not notice it but Cas is absolutely terrified, he's just doing one hell of a good job covering it up."

"And what about you?" Sam asked, "Are you scared?"

"Of course I am." Gabriel snorted, "I just said I wasn't the most courageous person ever. I'm scared out of my mind."

"Then why didn't you try to defend yourself when I found you?" Joanna asked softly.

"Fighting or killing a tribute would defeat the message we're trying to send." Gabriel explained. "There are probably more people than usual watching the Hunger Games as we speak and not just because it's the hundredth anniversary. The people of the Capitol were never able to view this stupid event as anything more than a harmless, fun game because none of them were ever forced to enter it. Actually, I'm pretty sure no one knew they were even allowed to volunteer until me and Cas did it. The point is that the people of the Capitol can now relate to a pair of tributes more than they ever could before. When me and Cas die, they won't be able to dismiss it as easily as they would have if we weren't one of theirs. At least, that's what we're hoping for."

"So you're trying to be a martyr?" Sam concluded.

"Basically." Gabriel confirmed.

"That's such a stupid way to go about change." Joanna snapped, "I mean, you have good intentions and everything but if you really wanted to get stuff done, you should have started a revolution or something!"

"Maybe." Gabriel considered, "But that's not very _Cas_. He wanted our brothers to rule peacefully and stop oppressing the districts, not over throw them. Revolutions also have the habit of being excessively violent and result in many deaths. If we had done as you suggested and started a revolution, if it would have been successful, our family would have paid the price. Sure they had nothing to do with whatever decisions Michael and Lucifer decided on but they are related to them and the people would want blood. And in the end, a revolution would defy Cas's peaceful moto."

"Going about something as insane as this peacefully won't get anything done." Joanna grumbled.

"I don't know about that." Gabriel hummed, "We'll just have to see how that turns out."

Dean and Castiel returned after some time. The two seemed different, along the lines of vulnerable. They confirmed that the walls seemed to be standing strong and they had blocked the only exit and entrance to the building. They had also examined the roof, concluding that one would have to be able to jump rather far to make it to their end so as to use the stairwell to reach them. In sum, they had found the best building possible to barricade themselves in and not worry about an assault or invasion of the sort.

The matter of the Angel brothers was quickly addressed once the most pressing matters were out of the way. Dean, Sam and Joanna confirmed to one another that they, indeed, knew the true identity of their companions and simply left it at that. There were no discussions in the regard of whether they should keep travelling, protecting or helping them. The decision had been understate though none of them were ever sure they had come to the same conclusions.

Nonetheless, time passed slowly. They took turns peering out the window for any sign of movement and, luckily, were confronted by nothing. When night fell things became a tad more intense. The night was much colder than all the other ones and so everyone huddled around together save for Joanna who had taken a shift to watch the surroundings. To keep her warm, Castiel had given her his coat and she held it against her tightly.

None of them found the relaxation necessary to be able to finally fall asleep and rest and so stayed awake for most of the night. When midnight came around, Joanna had retreated to huddle against the others for warmth and Dean had taken over. He wasn't particularly paying attention until a light shone above the center of the arena and the dead tributes of the day were displayed yet again. If Dean remembered correctly, only one tribute had passed away that day.

The image appeared and Dean's eyes widened in shock, muttering a disbelieving: "No…"

"What is it?" Joanna asked, jumping to her feet and grabbing her spear.

Dean tried to keep her away from the window, unsure why he had acted in such a way and what he would have said to her if his attempt had been successful but it hadn't. Joanna's eyes widened almost as much as Dean's had and tears immediately started trailing down her cheeks. The light displaying the face of the dead tribute quickly flickered out by the time the others had rushed to the window.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Ash…" Dean said slowly, "He's dead…"


	17. Reality

No one knew exactly how Ash had died. Most of them assumed it was because they hadn't been there to protect him like they had initially set out to. Joanna blamed herself immensely for being absent and not having found him. She was overcome by grief and a dire thirst for vengeance. Whoever had taken her brother away from her would pay a calamitous price and no words would diverge that determination. She had initially tried to break her way out of the building they had barricaded themselves in. Gripping at the heavy debris they had piled and tossing them away as though they weighed nothing more than a feather. They had to wrestle her away from the door and begged for her to calm down, only really complying when Dean held her in his arms.

She cried against him, curling her fingers in his shirt out of sheer rage and sorrow. Dean didn't complain. He couldn't imagine how terrible Joanna felt and he didn't want to. The rest seated themselves around them quietly, having nothing to say and not knowing what to say. What did you tell someone who lost their one and only brother in such a savage game? Of course, Ash was most likely in a better place – things couldn't be much worse than Panem – but there was no real comfort in that. So they stayed silent and gave Joanna space. She was a strong woman and would find offence in the least gesture of pity.

"I'll kill them…" she whispered through gritted teeth. "I'll kill them…"

"And we'll be right by your side when you do." Dean assured, petting her head gently.

Joanna eventually fell asleep, exhausted by her overwhelming emotions. Dean gently put her to rest on the ground, covering her with Castiel's coat and using their duffle bag as a pillow for her head. He then joined the others at the other end of the room to speak and not wake her. Sam, Gabriel and Castiel quieted upon seeing Dean approach them and glanced in the direction of a sleeping Joanna before speaking.

"How is she?" Sam asked.

"She's asleep for now." Dean stated, "But she's a wreck. I'm worried."

"No kidding." Gabriel sighed, "She's bound to act recklessly soon enough and it'll probably get herself killed. There's no room for error anymore."

"What are you saying?" Dean snapped, "That we leave her behind or something?"

"No." Gabriel said, "I'm saying keep an extra vigilant eye on her so that doesn't happen."

"I wonder what she'll do now." Castiel said softly.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"When we met Benny," he explained, "He said he didn't want to make it through the Games because he had nothing to return to now that his sister had died. I wonder if she'll become the same."

Sam glanced back at Joanna, "She has a mother waiting for her back home." He said, "Though, knowing Jo, she wouldn't be able to look her in the face once she'd return…"

"Both of you shut up!" Dean finally snapped, "And don't even think about saying anything Gabriel!"

Sam, Gabriel and Castiel exchanged perplexed looks, "What's gotten into you?" Sam eventually asked.

"I said shut up!" Dean growled, slamming his fist violently against the wall, "You all keep talking as though you're going to die! Cas continuously wanting me to abandon him to whichever hostile tributes we meet, Benny not believing in going home and now the three of you talking about how Jo won't want to go back home! Sam, I know you're scared and you feel that all hope is lost but it's not, okay!? And Gabriel, I know you haven't said anything yet but don't you start! I can't deal with this!"

"You can't protect all of us, Dean." Castiel said softly, "And the people in charge of the Games won't change their rules just because we refuse to kill one another. Sooner or later, some of us will have to die to permit the others to go home."

"Cas, I swear to god—"

"Dean, he's right." Sam interrupted, "Denying it won't change anything."

Dean clenched his fists, threatening to punch something or someone but never actually going through with his urge. "We don't know that." He insisted.

"If Cas and I couldn't change the minds of the Presidents," Gabriel stated, "What luck do you think you'll have by being stubborn?"

"Gabriel—" Dean snapped but then interrupted himself. It felt as though they were all ganging up on him, forcing him to swallow a truth he wasn't ready to accept. "Fuck this…"

He stomped away, heading for the stairwell. Castiel made a move to go after him but he was stopped by Sam. "Leave him." He said, watching his brother disappear into the darkness, "He needs time to think."

* * *

Dean did, indeed, need time to think. He needed time to digest the reality he had found himself avoiding from the moment his brother had been reaped. A part of Dean never truly believed he would ever end up in the Games. This was mainly attributed to the fact that the Winchesters have always lived a miserable, life regardless of the fact they didn't live in the worst district, and have had their fair share of suffering. To him, it seemed as though participating in the Hunger Games was excessive and unnecessary and the higher force motivating the world had decided to spare them such a tragedy.

But there was no higher force or God whether it be impersonal or not and there was no justice. How could there be?

Dean had thought that everything happening to him from the moment he had run onto the stage was a dream – or rather a horrible nightmare. He thought, eventually, he would wake up. The many friends he had made, Castiel, Joanna, Gabriel, Ash, Kevin and Garth, would reveal themselves merely as fragments of his impressive imagination. He hoped that Sam would be hovering over him as he always did when attempting to awake him and tell him something along the lines of "Dad needs help lifting something" or "Lunch is ready so you better hurry up before it gets cold".

But it was only wishful thinking because the nightmare Dean thought he would awake from was truly reality. Life had pissed on them countless times but now it had thrown them down the gutter, as though it had lost interest in screwing with him and his family. And the realisation of such a horribly depressing thing made Dean utterly miserable.

_We deserve happiness…_ he thought to himself, however, this time, he couldn't believe it. Hell, he barely wanted it. How could there be anything good in such a rotten world?

Steps echoing through the building had snapped Dean out of his lament. He darted his gaze back, staring intently at the stairwell and eventually saw a silhouette appear. As it approached him, Dean realised it was Castiel and a part of him relaxed. As much as he loved Sam, he didn't want to see him at the current moment. His younger brother always wanted to talk about their feelings so as to be on the same page about everything and though his intentions were noble and good, Dean found it impossibly annoying.

"Dean…?" Castiel said as a question, "May I sit with you?"

Dean remained quiet for a moment, pondering his response intently. "Whatever." He finally said, "Do what you want."

Castiel took the answer as a yes and proceeded to sit next to him. He wasn't too close nor was he too far. It was almost as though he found the perfect place to sit so as not be distant and yet not invasive and Dean appreciated that.

"Sam told me to wait a little longer." Castiel said, his soft voice barely echoing through the empty floor. "However, I decided not to."

"Why?" Dean asked. He wasn't particularly displeased by Castiel's sudden appearance but he agreed with Sam's insistence on more time. He hadn't yet accepted anything.

"Sam said you needed more time." Castiel answered, "I told him there was no time left to give. In our situation, if there's something we need to do, we have to do it now because we might not get the chance later."

Castiel made a valid point, as he always did and so Dean couldn't find it in himself to pretend to be displeased or angry. "I hate it when you make sense." Dean groaned.

"Sorry." Castiel mumbled.

"It was a joke, Cas." Dean said.

"Oh…" and then silence fell upon them yet again. Dean was waiting for Castiel to speak again since he had been the one to approach him first but it seemed that the other was expecting the same thing from him.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Dean eventually asked, "Do you want to lecture me about the way I'm acting?"

"No." Castiel replied simply, "I think your reaction is entirely normal."

"Then why did you come?" Dean asked, quickly losing patience.

"I didn't want you to be alone." Castiel said.

"Why?" Dean nearly snapped.

"Because it's lonely." Castiel merely stated. "If I'm bothering you, I'll leave."

But Dean found he couldn't tell the other to go away. He didn't want him to. "Stay." Dean said, grabbing Castiel's hand just as he was about to stand.

Castiel nodded lightly and did as he was bid. He didn't comment when Dean failed to release him. "Dean." He said after a long moment.

"Yeah?" the other responded.

"What did you mean when you said I was yours?" Castiel asked bluntly.

"W-what—?" Dean stammered nervously. Though it was particularly dark, Dean was positive Castiel could still see the dark blush flushing his face.

"You said that to Lilith." Castiel reminded.

"I was…I… It was … in the heat of the moment." Dean babbled.

"I didn't know I meant so much to you." Castiel said. "It made me happy…briefly, of course, seeing as we were inches away from Death itself."

Dean smiled at the feeble attempt of a joke. "You're my friend." He said.

"I've never really had a friend before." Castiel admitted sheepishly. "I've never been around anyone other than my siblings and a few important aristocrats that came to visit. I suppose these Games aren't all bad."

"Hm. There's a silver lining in everything, isn't there?" Dean said sarcastically.

"I honestly believe there is." Castiel stated. "I've never had a friend before or spoken to a girl who wasn't one of my sisters. Now I've made a lot more friends than I ever could have imagined and though two of them have died, I've had the pleasure of spending time with them."

"But they're dead." Dean remarked and, until then, he hadn't realised how heavy of a word that was.

"They are." Castiel acknowledged, "And, one day, you and I will both die. It might not necessarily be in this arena but it will happen eventually because we are mortal. Though that might sound depressing to you, it's that very thought that got me to cope with everything. I can either die in a warm bed with my family by my side or slaughtered like a pig in the Games."

"I would have chosen the first one, hands down." Dean said.

"Anyone would have." Castiel recognized, "But I chose the latter because it was the one that held the most meaning. And now that I am approaching my final hours or days, I believe I've made the right decision."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because I feel more satisfied with my life at this very moment then I've ever had." Castiel declared with a soft smile, "If I would have chosen the former end, I would never have met my friends and lived in such a way that did justice to my ideologies. I already told you that I fought for justice and equality but what good are words that have no actions to prove them?"

"That's very inspiring and all," Dean said, "But I don't see how this is supposed to make me feel better."

"At this very moment, you're scared because you've come to the realisation that all good things must come to an end." Castiel stated, "An end doesn't always mean a new chapter in life, sometimes it's more abrupt and it means Death. However, what you need to realise and understand is that Death was always the end to every good thing. This situation merely makes it more obvious. It was going to happen sooner or later, Dean, it always was. Now, you just need to let go."

"I wouldn't know how." Dean said, "I don't want the things I love to just turn to ash."

"They don't have to become ash." Castiel assured, "They can become memories, a warm star buried somewhere in your mind that you go to whenever things seem bleak and miserable. The people you love, the friends you've made, those who you fear will be taken by Death; they don't have to disappear the way you're afraid they will. They will be physically absent, but nonetheless, extremely present in your heart. We will not become nothing, Dean, and we will always be by your side."

Dean was at a loss of words. Castiel had, yet again, made far too much sense than he appreciated. However, as cheesy and sappy as the other's speech had sounded at times, it spoke a world of sense to Dean on a very personal level. Though there were a few grim passages here and there when things became a question of Death, Dean found that the end was overall comforting. And Dean suddenly did something he never imagined himself doing any time soon; he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against Castiel's.

The contact was brief and simple but lacked in no way emotion and passion. "We might not have gotten the chance later." Dean explained, answering the question Castiel had yet to ask. "You mean a lot to me."

"W-we've only met two weeks ago." Castiel stated, flustered by the action.

"I know." Dean said, "And the first thing I thought when I was you was: 'wow he's pretty!' and that hasn't changed. Sorry if that's weird…"

"I-it's not—" Castiel said quickly as he began to babble aimlessly, "W-well, it is but it isn't— I mean, I'm not a girl – and you know that – so the word is a bit inappropriate, b-but that doesn't mean I don't like it! I—"

Dean kissed him again, halting his frantic explanations and, somehow, relaxing him.

"T-thank you…" Castiel mumbled quietly.

"My pleasure." Dean smirked.

The weight he had been carrying on his shoulders suddenly seemed to have lifted as Dean decided to take Castiel's words and put actions to them. He would no longer fret about the inevitable grasp of Death though he would certainly continue to protect the ones he loved with everything he had. He wasn't about to act so carelessly and nonchalantly.

"We should go back to the others." Dean finally suggested.

They climbed down the stairs together, only releasing the hands they had clasped together to circle around the odd tree in the stairwell. Upon reaching the bottom and the room in which the others had made themselves comfortable, they found that Joanna wasn't the only one sleeping. Sitting against an opposing wall, Sam and Gabriel had fallen asleep, holding hands and leaning against each other. A part of Dean felt immediately protective and was disapproving of the contact but he loosened as Castiel walked away, causing him to trail behind.

Castiel had gestured Dean to sit by Joanna and to be with her when she awoke while he kept watch over their surroundings. Almost as soon as he seated himself, Dean was sleeping like a baby, his hand dropping to meet Joanna's outstretched one. Castiel smiled at the sight before beginning his watch.

And during those very short hours, all of them were at peace.


	18. Ash

**Relatively short chapter XP**

**I mean, they can't ALL be averagely 2500 words long ...**

**Well, yes they can but that's besides the point**

**Anyhow, 4 reviews = next chapter :DD  
**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Sam awoke with the sun shining on his face. He shifted his position, feeling rather sore and stretched his limbs before standing and observing his surroundings. Dean and Joanna were asleep, her head on his lap, next to Castiel who had most likely kept watch the entire night. He acknowledged Sam with a short smile and silent greeting, looking back out the window. Though he had been awake the entire night, he didn't seem particularly tired.

"Do you want to sleep for a bit?" Sam asked, walking over.

"No thank you." Castiel responded, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Sam insisted, "We can spend a bit more time here so you can rest."

"I'm fine." Castiel repeated with a soft smile, "We'll wait for the others to awake and then we'll get moving. Why don't you check on the roof?"

"For what?" Sam asked.

"Balthazar normally sends us gifts around this time." Castiel said, "He probably knows we're locked in here and so the only convenient place to drop a gift would be on the roof."

Sam nodded and made his way to the stairwell. He glanced at Gabriel on his way, blushing and increasing his speed out of pure embarrassment. He easily ran up the first few flights of stairs, slowing when he reached the odd tree and then resuming his climb with the previous speed. When Castiel had left to find Dean the preceding night, Gabriel and he had had a talk of their own. It was rather brief, straight to the point and Sam had fallen asleep not long after. The only tribute had taken his hand, holding it as he leaned against him and closed his eyes to sleep.

"What are you doing?" Sam had asked, flustered.

"Getting comfortable." Gabriel had smirked.

"W-why do you need to hold my hand?" Sam had stuttered nervously.

"Because I like you." Gabriel had answered simply, "I've liked you ever since our first conversation. Sure it wasn't all that long ago but, as it is, we don't have time to screw around with these things. So, if you don't feel the same way, that's fine but allow me this one night like this."

Sam had thus allowed him to fall asleep leaning on him and had also succumb to slumber moments later. It wasn't that he disliked Gabriel or didn't reciprocate his feelings, it was more that Sam wasn't used to going about something so quickly. It was as Gabriel had previously said, they had had their first conversation just two weeks ago and now the former was confessing a level of romantic affection to Sam. Though Sam was pleased, he nonetheless felt a bit conflicted. Gabriel was right, they didn't have time to dally and poke around the subject until they were both ready to start a relationship; it was now or never. And yet Sam couldn't help but argue that, in their current situation, it was not the time nor the place.

He eventually reached the roof, his inner struggles having rendered the trip seemingly instant. He opened the final door giving out on the roof and was surprised to see two donations already waiting and another one descending. He caught the third one, baffled by the public's generosity and quickly gathered the other two before making his way down. By then, Gabriel had awoken and Joanna was coming to.

"Look—" Sam said gesturing the pods he was holding.

"What the…" Gabriel mumbled baffled.

"Are those for us…?" Joanna asked groggily.

"I-I think…" Sam said, sitting on the floor and opening the first one, "I mean, I found them on the roof…"

The first gift contained as many gourds of water that could be squeezed in the space and a note. The sender was an anonymous Capitol sponsor that wished them the best of luck. The second was a gift from Anna which, Gabriel later explained, was one of their many sisters and the one that had been closest to Castiel. She had written a short message in which she basically apologized to Castiel, along with the many snacks that would keep them all fed for a long while. The very last pod was, yet again, from Balthazar. This time, he hadn't sent water, food or locations to other partners, merely a gun resembling the one Dean had lost along with many bullets. Needless to say, Dean was quite happy with the present when he awoke.

And so they reorganized themselves after having eaten some of the food given to them. The rest of their supplies were moved into the duffle bag they had which was to be lugged around by Gabriel. Once everything was in order, they began to clear the building's entrance and thus resumed walking around the arena. The group had thought to go back to the center and ganking Ruby and Lilith but Castiel had suggested they had left. In his opinion, Lilith had only stayed in the center for so many days in order to meet with her sister again and, now that they were reunited, they had most likely moved on. In the end, Joanna wasn't particularly keen on returning to that location and pressured the others to leave it behind for now. As it was, her focus most likely revolved around finding the tribute who killed her brother and getting the revenge she so desperately sought.

Hence they wandered around the area, scavenging buildings here and there, hoping to find something mildly useful – not that they were in dire need of it. Soon, noon had rolled by and they had yet to cross paths with any one. Of course, they thought it to be rather strange but figured that, what with the arena being enormous, it was only natural. The group decided to rest now that noon had arrived and headed for the nearest building that provided them decent cover and a good view of their surroundings so as to assure no other tributes would sneak up on them. They had barely sat down when a piercing voice called out to them.

"Winchester! Good to see you again with your boyfriend!" Abaddon shouted in a sing-song tone. "And you found your brother too! How lovely!"

"Shit—get up!" Dean growled, pulling out his colt.

"You've got a gun?" Abaddon leered with a sickly grin. She then pulled out a shotgun she had strapped to her back, "Me too! Let's compare so see who has the best one!"

And just as quickly as she had ended her sentence, she shot her first round in their direction. Dean had shoved everyone out of the way before narrowly dodging the lethal blow out of sheer luck. Abaddon growled and immediately got to loading her next shot, giving the others plenty of time to find cover.

"See that's the problem with shotguns…" Abaddon sighed, "You can't fire all that many shots in one go—"

Abaddon yelped as a bullet rebounded from the edge of building near her feet. She glared at Dean and shot a round out of anger, though he had avoided it by hiding behind his cover.

"That is _so_ rude!" Abaddon growled, "Here I am, making friendly conversation, and you just _shoot_ at me!"

"We need to think of a strategy!" Joanna whispered from her cover as Abaddon continued to rant.

"We should sneak up on her." Sam suggested, "Jo and I will find a way to climb the building she's on without her noticing, you guys just need to keep her busy."

"No way!" Dean refused, "You could die!"

"And so could you!" Sam retorted, "Look, Abaddon's insane and we need to take care of her _now_!"

"Hey!" Abaddon screeched, "I'm _talking_ while you're _plotting_ and that is so rude! You're supposed to listen when people talk, not ignore them!"

"Alright, fine, go!" Dean quickly ceded and jumped out of his cover to fire a few rounds at Abaddon.

Abaddon dodged them, laughing manically while doing so and returned to gesture, missing Dean yet again. Dean moved from cover to cover, drawing Abaddon's attention away from Sam and Joanna as they sneaked across the street without being detected.

"Say, Winchester!" Abaddon said loudly as she reloaded, "Where are Capitol and Senior hiding?"

"Who's Senior?" Gabriel asked.

"I think that's what they call you." Castiel assumed.

"I'm going to have _a lot_ of fun with them!" Abaddon cackled, "I'll give them a nice and slow death – though I'm sure they won't really think of it as particularly nice, probably more along the lines of painful. But it'll be nice for me and that's all that matters—"

"Why don't you shut your cake hole and focus!" Dean growled and fired a couple more rounds.

"Geez, your people skills aren't the sharpest are they?" Abaddon sighed disappointedly before firing her shotgun again.

Meanwhile, Sam and Joanna had successfully found their way into the building. They paused every now and again while they attempted to get to the roof as to make sure Abaddon didn't randomly decide to come down and foil their plans. So far, Dean was doing a pretty decent job at keeping her occupied.

The two stopped again, about a level beneath Abaddon to discuss their tactic. Sure their adversary was completely insane but she was far from stupid and so they needed to play their cards right. Joanna then suggested that the two storm the roof, splitting up and circling their way to her. Whoever got in closer first would be the one to end her and that was that. Seeing as Sam couldn't think of a better plan and was fairly content with the chances of survival of the one suggested, he agreed.

The next few moments happened very quickly. There had been a brief count down before the two tore down the door and did just as Joanna had suggested. Abaddon turned around, completely surprised by the two and yet not finding herself overwhelmed by the danger they paused. She grinned upon seeing Joanna, however, and unclipped a bag hanging around her waist then tossed it to her. Joanna stopped, confused by the gesture.

During said time, Sam had gotten close enough to Abaddon and was about to deliver a lethal blow when Dean shot his colt twice – the second bullet hitting his mark. It plunged itself deep into Abaddon's shoulder, causing her to shriek and drop the shotgun and that short moment of distraction was what permitted Sam to successfully stab her. The knife he wielded lodged itself deep into her neck, blood spraying from the wound and, as it was retracted, tore just enough skin to leave it hanging grossly from her corpse. Abaddon fell numbly to the ground, oozing blood all around her. Sam breathed heavily staring at the carnage he had inflicted, unaware and undisturbed by the fresh crimson liquid caking his upper body.

"Did you get her?" Dean called from bellow, having partially emerged from his cover.

"Y-yeah…" Sam answered, "Jo let's—"

Joanna was crouched over the bag Abaddon had tossed to her. It was wet from an unidentifiable liquid though, upon seeing its content, was easily distinguishable thereafter. She opened the bag carefully, her hands trembling almost as though she already knew what she would find. Sam stared at her helplessly as her hands plunged into the bag and gently pulled out Ash's bloody severed head. Joanna stared at it for some time, trapped in a trance of horror, but she eventually crumpled, holding it tightly as she sobbed.

A canon shot was fired and the others quickly joined them, petrified by the sight they were greeted with. Joanna had suffered so much and the severed head of her brother was an unnecessary additional blow. They watched her for some time, helpless and knowing nothing they could say would bring her peace of mind. The circumstances of Ash's death were still questionable though it was logical to assume that Abaddon had had a heavy part in it.

Her mangled corpse was eventually left behind as the others followed Joanna down the building, carrying Ash's head. She eventually found a spot nearby with soft dirt and began digging. They quietly helped her burry what part of Ash they had recovered and were going to allow her time to grieve again but Joanna wanted none of it.

"Let's just go." She said, her voice sounding deadpan.

And so they did.


	19. Friends

**I want to thank you all for the reviews you've been leaving.**

**Sure I haven't been answering all of you but that doesn't mean I don't read them lol**

**Anyhow, thanks and enjoy the newest chapter**

* * *

The group walked quietly though the ruined city. Wind blew about, ruffling the leaves of oddly placed plants and trees. They had gotten to a particularly wonderful area where the plants had seemingly become one with the infrastructure. Large trees had split buildings and yet held them together with their large roots. Some others had found a way to sprout from a wall rather than the ground, thick roots piercing the stone and trailing down to the soil for nutrition purposes. It was wonderful and yet none of them could truly appreciate it.

Ash was dead and Joanna might as well have been. There had always been a certain life to her, regardless of the grim circumstances. She always sought to persevere and though she never said it, it was shown through her gestures and actions. However, now her face was blank and emotionless. Her eyes were void and it almost seemed as though she merely trudged like a reanimated corpse with no particular ambition. The life she once held was gone along with her brother and everyone knew there was nothing they could say to bring her back. In short, Joanna was gone, never to return.

Thus they wandered aimlessly, unsure of what to do. None of them had a particular will to find other tributes and kill them and yet it was necessary to return home. Nonetheless, the reality of what they would eventually have to do went unspoken and it allowed them to believe they wouldn't have to become merciless killers just yet.

Suddenly, they stopped advancing. Initially, Sam and Dean thought they had unluckily encountered another tribute and were reaching for their weapons when they noticed nothing. It was Castiel and Gabriel that had stopped them with seemingly no reason.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"We can't go that way." Castiel declared.

"That's dumb, why?" Dean inquired.

Gabriel picked up a stone and tossed it a few feet in front of them. It collided with an invisible force, rebounding violently and nearly hitting Dean in the head. Sam, Dean and Joanna were then startled by what they had witnessed – failing to understand.

"We reached the edge of the arena." Gabriel declared.

"That's impossible." Joanna stated, "We spawned further away!"

"It appears that the arena is slowly becoming smaller." Castiel noted, "It would make sense seeing as there aren't many tributes left. The game designers are forcing confrontations."

"Don't they normally do that with, like, fire balls or something?" Sam asked, "I remembered they spawned these mutant-wolf creatures to kill some tributes and force the others to find adversaries."

"They're being special for the Hundredth Hunger Games." Castiel assumed, "they probably want all of the kills to have been made by the hands of other tributes."

"How did you see the force field?" Dean asked, approaching his side, "I mean, I still don't see it."

"It's virtually invisible." Castiel answer, "But if you place yourself at the right angle, you'll vaguely see its shape."

"What happens if we touch it?" Joanna asked.

"You likely die." Gabriel answered, "Most tributes who come in contact with force fields tend to run into them head on. The thing then ricochets them with ten times the force which ends up killing them. I think only one tribute actually survived contact with one, but he had been walking."

"So what do we do, then?" Joanna asked, "We can't keep running and hiding forever, they won't let us."

Two canon shots then echoed and they all flinched at the sound.

"Looks like their trick is already working its magic." Gabriel concluded.

"Do we join the party then?" Sam asked and everyone turned to look at Dean, having nominated him as the leader of their group.

"No." Dean decided.

"Why not?" Joanna asked, seemingly aggravated by the decision.

"Because we don't need to." Dean responded gently, well aware she was still suffering, "If the arena does continue to get gradually smaller, the others will kill each other off without our assistance. If we hide somewhere and wait, we'll have the best survival chances and not have to waste any energy."

"And what makes you think the people in charge will allow that?" Joanna snapped.

"Well, aside from shrinking the arena, they haven't done much else." Dean reasoned, "But, in the end, we'll just have to wait and see."

Joanna begrudgingly ceded to the plan and followed the group as Dean led the way through the ruins. They continued to walk around the perimeter, moving away from the force field but not by much. Dean had decided they would follow the game designer's lead and gradually move towards the center with the force field. None of the others protested the decision. Eventually they came across a decent building – albeit with a few trees and shrubs having grown in odd angles and places – and decided to settle there until they were forced to move again. To their surprise, the edifice was not vacant.

Dean was the first to enter. He didn't pay a particular attention to his feet and so tripped on a wire and triggered an alarm system. Empty cans and rocks fell on either side of the door, alerting the people inside of their presence. They immediately unsheathed their weapons, bracing themselves for a confrontation though were puzzled upon long minutes of motionlessness. Dean then took the lead, gesturing the others to stay a few paces behind as he readied himself to face the brunt of the possible ambush.

The first room was relatively empty, save for a few dust-covered shelves and the plant life having sprouted in all four corners. He continued on to the back, the door leading to rest of the building barely hung on its hinges and was fairly ajar. It was a fair bet that the tributes hiding were waiting for them there. Dean paused just as he was about to open it, making sure the rest of the group was on the same page and knew what to expect in the next few seconds. When they all nodded, signaling their readiness, Dean kicked the door open and bounced in the room, waving his gun around. And, oddly enough, he found nothing – again.

The others quickly flooded the room, repeating the general movements he had made consequent to entering the area. Dean lowered his gun, perplexed by the vacantness and the proof left behind blatantly stating the presence of tributes within the building. They quickly searched the other rooms, finding nothing again before making their way to the stairwell. This time, Dean saw the wire and gestured it to the others before commencing his climb. However, as it seemed, the wire was a decoy for the real trap: a faulty step that noisily gave out beneath Dean's step. He growled angrily at being bested though the others made no comment of it.

They climbed the rest of the way, Dean being extra vigilant in regards to other traps but there were none left. Again, he paused, readying the others for a potential confrontation. Barely had he entered the room that a tribute flung himself at Dean, pettily attempting to trap and choke him with a stick. He was easily flung across the room by Dean himself and was about to be shot when Sam recognized him.

"K…Kevin?"

Kevin hurried to his feet, bracing himself for another confrontation. "W-what do you want!?" he stammered nervously, brandishing his pathetic weapon.

"Kevin, relax…" Sam cooed, approaching him gently. He quickly put his knife away as a gesture of good faith before continuing, "We were supposed to team up, remember?"

"Yeah!" He spat, "But we never found you! And now there's – you brought _them_! I thought you said they weren't part of the team!"

"We're not." Gabriel sneered, "We're just tagging along and annoying the hell out of them."

"Basically." Sam smirked and his smile grew wider as Gabriel quietly explained to Castiel that the statement had been a jest.

"If that's true…" Kevin said, lowering his weapon and defence, "Kill them."

"What?" Joanna asked dryly.

"They're not on our team!" Kevin stated, "They're in our way _and_ our adversaries! We need to kill them to go home! So kill them!"

"No." Dean stated with as much rage as Joanna was exerting.

"Why not?" Kevin asked and all were surprised by how dismayed he seemed, "They'll attract the others! I don't need this trouble! Not with Garth being…"

"Garth?" Dean asked, peering around the room, "Where's Garth?"

Kevin brought them to the west side of the second floor. There was a small room with the only proper door of the entire establishment behind which laid Garth in a cot. He was incredibly pale – more so than usual – and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He grimaced and moaned in pain, twitching frantically and seemingly wanting to curl into the fetal position.

"What's wrong with him?" Gabriel asked.

"I don't really know anymore." Kevin sighed, defeated by the pressure of everything, "After we found each other on the first day, we bolted and tried to find a good place to hide. We went through a few buildings, moving around whenever tributes got too close. I generally wanted to avoid confrontation but Garth wanted to full on fight them. Anyway, like I said, we went through a few buildings and we found a couple of bags just laying around. So we took them and brought them here. In one of them, there was food but the containers were already opened so I was iffy about eating them. Garth, however, was not. And then he got sick."

"Food poisoning?" Joanna suggested.

"That's what I thought at first." Kevin said, "At first he was throwing up everywhere and…you know…and I figured he'd eventually expel all the bad food and he'd be fine when his immune system would finally kick in. But it's been three or four days now and he's still sick."

"And you're sure the food you found came from a duffle provided by the game designers or whoever's in charge?" Dean asked.

"The bag looked just like the one you're carrying." Kevin stated, "I think some of the things they leave around are jokes or tricks."

Everyone but Kevin silently turned to Castiel, pondering the theory as they observed the coat he was wearing.

"I like it…" he muttered.

"Point is," Kevin finally sighed, "Maybe you guys have good intentions, I don't know, but you dragged along Capitol and Senior which means some crazy tributes aren't far behind. Garth is sick and weak and we can't deal with anything right now. So if you're—"

"Do you have water?" Gabriel asked.

"What?" Kevin responded after a moment.

"Humour me." He insisted.

"W…No…" Kevin admitted.

"I'm not a doctor or anything…" Gabriel began slowly, "But I do read a lot and judging by his current condition and what you've told us, I'd say Garth is dehydrated."

"How would you know?" Kevin asked, darting his gaze to his adoptive brother.

"You said he literally threw up everywhere," Gabriel explained, "That means that everything in his stomach was expelled. You also added he…_yeah_ – almost as much which means that his body was virtually empty when he finished. Then he was knocked out – food poisoning will do that to a person, especially after having it rough. Now if you look at him more closely, you'll see his lips are chapped which indicates his body isn't and hasn't been getting enough water. You said you didn't have any, so Garth has basically been without the most vital thing to his survival: water for four days now. He's probably been in and out of sleep, right?"

"Yeah…" Kevin confirmed, "He also tried to speak a few times but nothing…concrete came out."

"That's because his mouth is probably completely dry." Gabriel mused, "But, if it wasn't, chances are he still wouldn't have made sense because he was probably saying gibberish. Anyways, Garth just needs to drink, but we can't give him too much right away or else he'll just regurgitate it. And, luckily for you Kev, we've got plenty of water."

Gabriel slipped the bag from his back and opened it, revealing pouches – some more full than others. They began with the used ones, helping Garth drink small quantities every few minutes. And so they continued in such a way until the sun set and the moon arose. By then, Garth was looking far less pale and had stopped grimacing in pain. He had also fallen asleep, thus leaving the others to waste around until Garth awoke.

"See?" Gabriel smirked, nudging Kevin playfully, "Not such a bad idea keeping us around, eh?"

"I guess I should apologize…" Kevin mumbled, ashamed.

"There is no need." Castiel assured, "We are, indeed, a danger to you all. You had every right to want us dead and we can't blame you for that."

"Still," Kevin insisted, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped the gun like that. I was… I was just so terrified… I didn't expect to have to deal with things on my own for so long."

"Well, we're here now buck-o!" Gabriel grinned, hooking an arm around Kevin's neck, "So there's nothing to worry about anymore!"

Sam and Dean smirked at the sight of them getting along. They would have participated in the joyful moment but decided to find Joanna instead. She had moved to a different room, staring out the window – particularly at the center of the arena where the faces of deceased tributes were advertised. They had arrived just as the national anthem began playing and witnessed the deceased with her. The tributes weren't any one of important, some nobodies that had harassed Sam and Dean around the end of the training weeks just like the others.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Joanna eventually said, "To be honest, I don't feel anything anymore…"

"What do you mean?" Dean questioned.

Joanna turned away from the window and looked at the brothers, "Ever since I held Ash's head…" she said slowly, pain flickering in her eyes, "I don't know, I just…everything went numb. Like, I couldn't feel anymore – well, that's not entirely true. I couldn't feel anything except guilt."

"You don't have to feel guilty." Sam said softly, "There was nothing you could have done."

"See, you say that…" Joanna said with a bitter smile, "And I even thought that too…but no matter who says or thinks it, I still feel guilty."

"Why?" Dean asked, "There has to be a reason to it."

Joanna paused, seriously considering the question before answering, "I think…" she answered, "It's because of Abaddon. I mean, she was so close to us the next day…" she clenched his fists tightly, "And she had Ash's head…and that leads me to believe he wasn't all that far away from where we were hiding. I-I think…I think I keep thinking that if we had just ran down a different block or had decided not to stay put… we could have found him alive…"

Tears slipped from Joanna's eyes as she finally allowed herself to cry and appear weak in front of the Winchester brothers. Her entire body quaked with sorrow and her knuckles became white what with the force with which she was bawling them. She looked up pathetically at the ceiling, "God…" she sighed between sobs, "How am I going to look my mother in the face…?"

Sam and Dean both placed a comforting hand on her shoulders and stayed with her as she cried and mourned her brother. There was nothing more they could say to try comforting her and reasoned that the best support could currently be given through absolute silence. Eventually, they retreated back to the room in which the others had fallen asleep and joined them, Joanna offering to take the first watch.

Garth awoke a couple of hours later, able to form somewhat coherent sentences. He wasn't entirely lucid but Joanna didn't find herself having a particularly difficult time getting him to drink more water. After a few hours, Garth fell asleep again and Joanna was left awake and alone to ponder her emotions and situation. She never awoke any of the others as to allow her some time to sleep.


	20. Guilt

The others awoke a few hours after sunrise. Joanna was feeding Garth and reminding him to go about it slowly seeing as he hadn't eaten in a long while. Sam and Dean half expected him to have the same reaction as Kevin did upon seeing Castiel and Gabriel but Joanna had already explained how essential they had been in his recovery. She had nagged him long and hard about how he would have most likely died if Gabriel wasn't around to state he was dehydrated. Plus, the only reason any of them had water was because Castiel and Gabriel's siblings continuously sent them filled gourds at the beginning of each day. Thus, with the explanation given, Garth learned to accept the Capitol tributes and thanked them for the help they provided.

"So how are you feeling?" Gabriel asked.

"Way better." Garth grinned, "Still a bit weak though."

"Guess we're stuck here for a while longer." Dean sighed.

"We'd have to check if the force field moved." Sam reminded, "We can't stay here if it's too close."

"Force field?" Kevin repeated.

"We were heading for the perimeter," Joanna explained, "We wanted to continue searching around the area but then Castiel noticed the force field. It's basically how they keep us from escaping and the game designers have begun to shrink the arena in order to force confrontations."

"Shit," Kevin cursed, "How close are we?"

"That's what we have to go find out." Sam stated. "I'll go check it out but I need someone to come with me."

"I'll go." Dean and Castiel said at the same time. They then exchanged looks, unsure whether the both of them should partake in the short recon mission.

"You should both go." Joanna finally said, "Castiel spotted the thing first the last time so it'd be wise to bring him in case you didn't. We wouldn't want you to bump into it and die."

And yet Dean still felt a bit iffy about leaving Gabriel behind. He knew Kevin and Garth were now grateful for his presence and knew they owed him a lot, but he was nonetheless concerned. They had wanted him and Castiel dead. And yet, Joanna would also remain and she could probably handle them without effort if they ever decided to try anything.

"Alright…" he said slowly.

Dean grabbed his gun whereas Castiel and Sam pulled out their knives and lead the walk out of the building. They had reset the traps the night before and had to be weary of not triggering them again. Once safely out, they inspected the area, making sure no one was spying on them, before making way to the force field. They only walked down two street blocks before finding it a few meters further.

"Damn." Dean sighed.

"I guess we'll have to move." Sam said, "It's too close for comfort."

"They're really not kidding around anymore." Dean huffed, "They really want this thing to end soon."

"At least they're not unleashing monsters." Castiel supposed, "However, I'm concerned about moving Garth. He's still very weak and he'll need help moving around. We won't be able to move quickly which will make us vulnerable."

"We can't just leave him behind, Cas." Sam said.

"That's not what I'm suggesting," he assured, "I think we should scout ahead and find a secure place and then return for them. If we already know where we're going, transporting Garth will be faster than if we just lugged him around pointlessly before settling somewhere."

"That's reasonable." Sam agreed.

"We're still going to have to go back there before doing that." Dean stated, "They need to be updated on the proximity of the force field and the plan so they can get ready."

They returned to the building though something quite unexpected had happened. They had only gotten wind of trouble when they were literally next to the edifice, startled by the sudden sound of heavy objects crashing and breaking. They cautiously entered the structure, wary of a hostile tribute having entered the site but soon discovered Joanna had made the fuss. They met with her as she stormed down the stairwell, visibly agitated and angered out of her mind, Gabriel trailing behind her worriedly.

"We're leaving." She hissed.

"Why? What happened?" Sam asked.

"Those _bastards_ saw Ash!" Joanna growled, pointing up the stairs when Kevin came into view, "They saw him and didn't help him!"

"Jo—"

"No!" she interrupted violently, "I want to leave right now! We don't need scum like them! I get you might not want to leave based just off that but take into consideration they wanted Gabriel and Castiel dead _and_ they didn't even try to find us regardless of our alliance! They've only been mooching off us from the moment we got here!"

Joanna didn't stop to hear what the brothers or Castiel had to say. She left the building, likely waiting for them to join her outside once they'd make up their minds. They looked around confusedly, at a loss of how exactly they should act before settling their gaze on Gabriel for further details.

"The story goes like this," he sighed, approaching them and speaking in a hushed tone, "It was a day or two ago and Garth was already sick. Kevin tried to scavenge for things on his own to help him when he came across Ash. He was hiding so Ash didn't see him and, apparently, he was going to reach out to him when he noticed Abaddon. He decided to keep hiding and tried to warn Ash but only drew Abaddon to him. He saw her shoot Ash in the shoulder before he ran off, Abaddon chasing after him."

"I was scared." Kevin said, regretfully looking towards where Joanna had left. "I wanted to help him but I wasn't strong enough to take Abaddon on my own. She would have killed me too. But that wasn't the worst part."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

He paused, staring at the exit before whispering: "Abaddon tortured him for hours." And the confession froze the four listening, "She had him in a nearby building and I could hear him screaming and begging for her to just kill him. I think she wanted some information on where you guys were or something because he kept repeating things like: "I don't know" and "I've been alone" or something. The only time I ever heard her voice was when she laughed. I was so scared she would find us, but I guess she didn't."

"Jesus, Kevin!" Dean groaned, "Why did you tell her that?"

"I didn't!" Kevin defended, "Garth did!"

"How did he know?" Gabriel asked, "Didn't you say he was sick during that time?"

"He was," Kevin said, "I just… I just talked to him a lot. When I came back, I felt so guilty about not helping Ash that I told him about everything. A part of me knew he was listening but I didn't think he'd remember let alone repeat it to Jo…"

"Fuck, this is a mess…" Dean grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought, "I don't think I can fix this guys…"

"Can't you just explain the situation to her?" Kevin pleaded, "I already feel bad enough as it is but having her so angry just makes everything worse! I mean, it's not my fault I just—"

"We know, Kevin." Sam assured, "The problem is that Jo is still grieving. She didn't lose just anyone, she lost her brother and she hasn't been catching a break ever since she found out. Look, she probably doesn't mean whatever she told you before we got here. Her mind is clearly just messed up from everything that's happened. I mean, a night ago she was blaming herself and now she's blaming you. I think she's just trying to find a person on who to take out her pain."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just have her kill Abaddon or something?" Kevin suggested helplessly.

"Abaddon's dead." Castiel said. "Sam and Dean killed her."

"Then shouldn't she be fine?" Kevin asked, "She got her revenge—"

"Things aren't as simple as that," Dean explained, "She didn't kill Abaddon, me and Sam did and, as a final blow, before dying, Abaddon gave Jo a bag."

"What was in it?" Kevin asked after a pause.

"Her brother's head." Gabriel said grimly, which made Kevin flinch.

"No way…" he mumbled, shocked.

"So do you understand why things are difficult?" Sam said and Kevin nodded.

"Someone should go talk to her." Gabriel suggested, "I tried dissuading her but she didn't want to hear anything from me."

"Right," Dean agreed, "Sam, you go talk to her. We'll help Kevin and Garth organize themselves."

"Organise for what?" Kevin asked.

"The force field's too close," Dean explained as he led the way up the stairs, "We need to move to a building further away."

Sam watch them disappear up the stairs and waited for a moment before heading to Joanna. She was waiting next to the building, leaning against the wall with a fuming expression. She glared at nothing in particular, clearly reflecting on what she had learned and the angered it inspired.

"You a bit calmer now?" Sam asked.

"No." she hissed, "They don't deserve our help."

Sam sighed and stood next to her, positioning himself similarly, "I understand you're angry." He said after a moment, "I don't _know_ how you feel, but I understand. I think my reaction might have been similar if I had been in your place."

"They're cowards." Joanna growled, "They didn't even try to save Ash! I would have tried! Hell, I did jump into a nasty situation recklessly to save Gabriel even though I was outnumbered!"

"They aren't you, Jo." Sam reminded, "You remember how Kevin was in training right? He didn't really spar or practice his fighting skills; he spent most of his time testing his knowledge. He wasn't meant for fighting."

"I don't care!" Joanna snapped, "He should have tried! Even if it would have gotten him killed, he should have tried to save Ash!"

"From what he told us, he did." Sam said, "He tried to warn Ash but made a mistake and lured him to Abaddon."

"I know! But he didn't even _try_ to fix it!" Joanna stated.

"Abaddon had a gun and Kevin isn't reckless." Sam said, "Kevin also had to worry about his brother. If he had died trying to save Ash, Garth would have been even more vulnerable _and_ alone. I'm not saying you should stop being upset or angry, I'm saying you should redirect your emotions or question if they're properly placed. I think you should be disappointed in Kevin for not having tried harder at most, but I think he's underserving of your current harsh treatment."

"Maybe…" Joanna eventually ceded, "But, emotions aside, they haven't contributed yet."

"Well, Garth was sick." Sam reminded, "Now that he's getting better I'm sure they'll begin to help out in whichever way they can."

"It'll take about another day for Garth to be mildly useful." Joanna stated, "Sure he's seemingly bounced back but if we push him too hard today, he'll get worst again."

"Which is why we'll have to be careful with him." Sam said.

"I'm worried it'll get us killed." Joanna stated a bit too harshly.

"Cas found a way around the problem." Sam reassured, "A couple of us will go scouting ahead, find a suitable hideout and then bring Kevin and Garth to it. We'll camp out there until we have to move again to get away from the force field."

Joanna nodded though was still apprehensive towards assisting Kevin and Garth. As it was, they had given them a mountain-load of help by assisting Garth in his training and saving him and they had yet to return the favour. Though Sam was confident that, in due time, the Tran siblings would repay them, Joanna was less optimistic and more realistic. The arena was becoming smaller faster and would force the tributes into confrontations. Chances were they would meet up with adversaries and die before Garth got the chance to be useful and Kevin found the means to prove his worth to the group.

Nonetheless, she kept quiet and followed Sam back into the building. Garth seemed relieved upon seeing her enter the room. It was almost like he wanted to speak or simply apologize but Kevin kicked him and he shut his mouth instantly, obeying the silent command. Dean smiled as they joined the group, thankful Sam had managed to talk sense into her but didn't mention it as there was a more pressing matter at hand.

"Okay," he said, "We need to find a new hideout but we can't all go at once. Two of us will have to stay behind with Kevin and Garth whereas the rest will go scouting."

"I'll stay behind." Castiel offered.

"I'd rather you not." Dean replied almost immediately.

"Why not?" Castiel asked.

"Because, let's say a hostile tribute appears," Dean explained, "Basing myself off the actual events that unfolded when such a situation actually happened, you'd throw yourself willingly at the enemy as a sacrifice. I understand why after everything you've told me, but you can't guarantee Kevin and Garth won't be killed after you've dropped dead. We need someone ready to fight and defend to stand guard."

Castiel's gaze dropped and Gabriel was quick to comfort him with a friendly pat and a grin. "So I guess that means I'm not allowed to stay behind?" Gabriel asked.

"Bingo." Dean confirmed.

"Wait!" Kevin interjected, "He was able to figure out what was wrong with Garth when I couldn't! He knows things! I think he should stay with us if Garth gets any worse!"

"Well, if he stays behind," Dean said slowly, scanning their group before making a decision, "Then Sammy has to stay too."

"I don't know…" Sam said, uncomfortable. "You might need me, Dean. If anything goes down—"

"I'll have Jo." Dean finished, gesturing Joanna. "Don't worry, this shouldn't take long."

"Alright, fine." Sam huffed.

"Good," Dean said, "When we find the place, someone will stay behind to make sure the coast is clear and that, if any tributes appear, can come warn us."

"How far will we be moving?" Kevin asked.

"Not too far." Dean said, "We don't want to get to the center too quickly and the longer it takes to get to our new destination, the more chance there is to be spotted by the others."

Once they had gone through the details, Sam and Dean said their farewells and the scouting group moved out. Sam watched them go, a nervous feeling churning in his stomach as they disappeared outdoors. Gabriel approached him, resting a hand on his shoulder and was quiet for a moment before saying: "Don't worry. They'll be fine."


	21. Danger

Dean, Castiel and Joanna roamed the buildings, heading towards the center of the arena. They had walked around for at least an hour before judging that a building within the given location would last them for a day or two again. However, they soon found themselves struggling to find a structure with no gaping holes and a functioning door somewhere within. Eventually, they were forced to separate in order to cover more ground quickly. Castiel had been the one to find the winning location and they were about to decide who would stay behind when—

"Hello boys." Crowley grinned and then turned to Joanna, "and girl, of course."

"Crowley." Dean hissed, pointing his colt at the man. "What the hell do you want?"

"Nothing in particular." He answered nonchalantly, "Well, nothing _concrete_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Joanna growled.

"You'll find out soon enough, love." He said.

"I don't think you understand your position." Dean said threateningly, "There's a gun pointed at you and a bullet moments away from lodging itself in your skull. You don't get to toy around the topic, you answer or you die."

"See," Crowley said, dismissing the threat, "You say that, but I've watched you in action in the arena. You don't kill, or fight for that matter, unless your adversary throws the first punch. I don't intend to do such a thing."

"You've been watching us…?" Joanna asked.

"Not you, darling." Crowley said and pointed at Dean, "Just him. And not the entire time, just a bit at the beginning, when they were travelling with that fellow from district 11."

"Benny…" Castiel mumbled.

"Right," Crowley ceded, "Anyhow, I observed, made a conclusion and then reported back to my group."

"Group?" Dean asked skeptically.

"It's more of a trio but, yes." Crowley confirmed, "Gordon and Kubrick? Remember those two?"

Dean frowned. They had had trouble with Gordon in particular though the man seemed to hate Sam more than Dean.

"Funny story on how the two came to be brothers." Crowley explained. "According to Kubrick, they share the same father but not the same mother. When their father passed away, their mothers united to raise them together or something like that."

"You befriended them." Dean said, "Why should we care?"

"Befriend—?" Crowley repeated with a loud laugh, "Far from it! I merely had to pretend to be concerned to win their favour! Well, Kubrick's, Gordon still doesn't trust me but that's just a minor detail. In the end, they're _just_ my goons and I will dispose of them as soon as they've exceeded their usefulness."

"You're underestimating them." Joanna stated, "Sure they might not be the brightest, but that won't make them any less capable of taking you out."

"Actually, it will." Crowley concurred, "Being strong is an advantage but, with the addition of being an idiot who _thinks_ he's smart, that cancels out the threat. Gordon is an idiot, not as stupid as his brother mind you, but an idiot nonetheless who thinks he's clever when he's only governed by emotions."

"Why did you team up with them?" Dean asked.

"Because I needed strong idiots to do my bedding." Crowley explained, "You and your brother were my first choice, but you were far smarter than I gave you credit for and the second you refused my offer, I knew you would be trouble."

"Where are you going with this?" Joanna snapped, "There has to be a point to this conversation."

Crowley looked at the sky for a moment, contemplating before looking back at the three, "I suppose enough time has passed." Crowley mused with a sinister grin, "You see, I wanted your _time_. While following Dean around for a bit, I concluded he wasn't as much of a threat if _separated_ from his brother."

Dean's eyes widened at the realisation of what the confession implied.

"Gordon and Kubrick are ransacking your 'base of operations' as we speak." Crowley grinned.

"You bastard!" Dean growled, tightening his grip on the colt and threatening to pull the trigger out of rage, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!"

"Because," Crowley said, stepping aside almost as though to allow them a path, "If you run as fast as your legs can carry you, you might still make it in time to save one of them."

The reason seemed valid enough and inspired a small tingle of hope within Dean as he dashed down the street desperately. Perhaps he had been foolish to believe Crowley but he had to try to save Sam. He was his last family and, if he died, he would literally have nothing to live for anymore.

* * *

"Don't worry. They'll be fine." Gabriel said, resting a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder.

"I hope so." Sam said, clenching his fists.

They retreated back to the room, helping Garth to his feet and supporting him while Kevin packed away their belongings. He rolled the cot, shoved it in his duffle bag but ditched the open food that laid around the room. It only took them a few short minutes to get completely ready and now they had to wait for Dean and the others to return.

"So," Garth said after a moment, "How have you guys been doing so far?"

"You mean before we met up with you?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Garth said.

"I'd say decently well." Sam admitted, "We all got into fights with other tributes though we never lost so far."

"What about you?" Garth asked, looking at Gabriel.

"Oh, I don't fight." He quickly dismissed.

"Yeah, so I heard Dean say…" Kevin said slowly, "Why?"

Gabriel was about to answer their question and give them the speech he had given Sam and Joanna roughly two days ago when he decided against it. Sam couldn't really tell why though it almost seemed like he wanted to keep it secret. Sam would never really know why. "I'm a pacifist." Gabriel said and Kevin and Garth didn't think to question the statement.

They remained quiet for a couple more minutes when they heard people entering the ground floor. Kevin and Garth sighed in relief, assuming Dean, Castiel and Joanna had already returned with a new destination in mind but Sam and Gabriel knew better.

"Looks like we're going to—"

"Shh!" Sam hissed, unsheathing his knife as he crept towards the stairwell. There was silence on the other end until whoever it was took a step to climb the stairs and triggered the second alarm. The tribute cursed and Sam immediately knew they were in danger. "Shit!"

He moved back quickly to the others and gestured them to follow his lead as quietly as possible. There was no time for explanations though the grave expression on Sam provided the details necessary. They followed him quietly to a neighbouring room with two different doors. Sam and Gabriel were each stationed at an entrance, peaking to see by which ends the tributes would come. Sam spotted them first, freezing upon seeing Gordon and Kubrick.

"Damn it." He whispered to himself.

They needed to get out of the building as fast and quietly as possible without getting caught. And so, they stealthily moved from room to room, and kept an eye on the whereabouts of the others until they made it to the stairwell. Sam gestured Kevin and Garth to go down first while he kept watch. Gabriel peaked over his shoulder, standing by his side regardless of the danger.

"We're not going to lose them." Gabriel whispered.

"I know." Sam responded, "But we need to buy time to think of a plan."

They observed as Gordon and Kubrick changed rooms again. This time, Sam noticed Gordon was carrying a sword and had some coiled barbwire hanging off his hip. Kubrick, on the other hand, wielded a metal stake and carried the duffle they had found. Once they disappeared out of sight, Gabriel and Sam sneaked down the stairs, joining Kevin and Garth outside.

"What do we do?" Kevin asked breathlessly.

"We need to find a place to hide, fast." Sam said.

"No!" Garth protested, "We need to fight them!"

"We can't right now!" Sam snapped, "We can't be reckless about this or else we'll die. Gordon's pretty strong _and_ insane so we might as well increase our survival rate by being smart."

Sam and Gabriel quickly shoved them into a building across the street and just in the nick of time at that because Kubrick had peered out one of the windows curiously. Luckily, he hadn't seen them but it had generally been too close for comfort. As it was, Gordon and Kubrick would likely search the building top to bottom which would give them some time to distance themselves and find a strategic place to hide. And yet, Sam hesitated to do so since it could mean losing Dean somewhere in the arena and never seeing him again.

"We need to move." Gabriel reminded him.

Sam paused, peering back out the window to the building before looking back at the group. "Okay." He sighed.

They walked to the other end of the building and found that the entire east wall had crumbled. They made their way over the rubble and ventured south, using the buildings as cover. Once they'd crossed a couple of streets, they began moving west seeing as the opposite direction would lead them to the force field. They travelled for a couple of minutes, keeping their guards up and remaining as vigilant as possible in case of a surprise attack.

However, rather than meeting with Gordon and Kubrick, they crossed paths with Dean, Castiel and Joanna. Castiel had been the one to see them whereas the other two and run across the street at full speed, barely paying them any attention.

"Dean!" Castiel called repeatedly until the other stopped running, "They're right here!"

Dean soon popped around the corner he had run and looked at the direction Castiel had been gesturing. His relief was evident regardless of the distance separating them and they quickly made their way to the rest of the group. Sam and Dean shared a brief hug before explaining what had happened. Dean related the meeting and conversation with Crowley while Sam explained how they managed to escape undetected.

"I'm glad you're safe." Dean sighed. "We need to g—"

"Gordon!" they heard Crowley's voice echo through the empty city, "You dolt! They're two streets down from you! How did you let them escape!?"

Their blood froze and yet they had no time to waste away in fear. Gordon was coming and they would have to fight him. It was as Gabriel had said, there was no way they could escape him anymore. They quickly rushed into a building, climbing the stairs to the third floor where they were forced to come up with a plan.

"Crowley's unarmed from what we saw." Joanna explained.

"Gordon has a sword," Sam said, "Plus some barbwire for some reason."

"And Kubrick has these metal stakes." Gabriel finished.

"Alright, so there's a chance I can just shoot them dead." Dean concluded.

"I don't think it'll be that simple." Castiel said.

"Well, let's try it out—"

Dean ran to the window facing the streets and readied his colt. He finally looked out and saw Crowley standing in the street, greeting Gordon and Kubrick as they emerged from another building and gesturing them to his location. He took in a deep breath and shot two rounds in their direction. Crowley jumped back, startled by the shots whereas Gordon had seemingly seen them coming and shoved Kubrick out of the way before dodging as well. He glared at him and dashed towards their edifice, the bullets Dean shot missing their target.

"Okay…" he said, returning to the group. "That failed."

Steps echoed in the stairwell. "They're coming!" Kevin said in horror.

"Gabriel and Cas," Sam said quickly, "Get Kevin and Garth somewhere safe. We'll take care of them."

Castiel and Gabriel quickly did as they were told while Sam and Joanna readied themselves for a confrontation. They were placed on either side of Dean who had his gun already aimed towards the stairwell and was ready to shoot as soon as he saw either Gordon or Kubrick. Gordon's head popped up first and though Dean reacted as rapidly as he could, the former had still managed to dodge and climb the stairs. When Kubrick appeared, he managed to nick his shoulder with a bullet but nothing more. The two men had managed to find cover next to the entrance just as Dean ran out of rounds.

"You are just a bunch of cowards!" Gordon spat from his cover, "Hiding behind a gun! Where's the honour in that?"

"Who cares about honour!?" Joanna snapped, "We want to keep living and if you brought a sword to a gun fight, that's your problem."

Dean had hastily attempted to reload his colt before Gordon realised what he was up to but hadn't been fast enough. Gordon jumped out of his cover and dashed towards Joanna, swinging his sword. She had managed to block the blow with her spear but the force of the impact had snapped the weapon in halves. She leapt back, dodging more swings as best as she could before she was promptly knocked against the wall. Gordon then began attacking Dean who had managed to intercept his swings with his machete. The difference in power was particularly grand and Dean found a certain difficulty in not dropping his weapon what with the force of each blocked impact.

Before Sam could react to assist his brother, Kubrick had jumped out to assist Gordon and threw one of his metal stakes. He barely managed to dodge the metal object before Kubrick tackled him to the ground. Sam's hand slammed violently against the ground, injuring his wrist and causing him to drop his weapon. He struggled with Kubrick, fighting through the pain and using his injured hand to defend himself. However, Kubrick found that it was principally easy to best Sam in their given situation and was just about to plunge a stake into his head when Joanna intervened.

She stabbed her broken spear through his neck, watching him gurgle blood for a brief moment before tugging him off Sam. They were just about to assist Dean when Gordon backed off, creating a gap between he and the three. He quickly assessed the situation, noting his dead half-brother on the ground before turning back to them. Strangely enough, he showed no signs of rage. Rather, Gordon playfully twirled his sword in his hand and grinned sickeningly.

"This is turning out to be more fun than I expected!" he smirked and dashed towards them.

The bold action was surprising, even more so when Dean, Sam and Joanna realised that, though he was outnumbered, Gordon was still a serious threat. He swung his sword widely, dispersing the three just enough to be able to focus on Dean briefly. He swung again, Dean blocking with his machete though quickly losing balance upon being shoved away. Sam and Joanna had attempted to deliver a lethal blow as he did so but Gordon ducked and spun as he kicked their feet from beneath them. Sam fell over, hitting his head harshly against the concrete and barely reacted in time when he saw Gordon loom above him, ready to stab his weapon into his face.

Sam rolled aside, narrowly missing the blow and tried to kick at Gordon's feet though the latter avoided the contact and swung again. Then, he was forced to change his focus as Dean came at him from behind. He grabbed his wrist just before the machete's blade could reach his flesh and nailed his knee into his stomach, winding Dean. The latter keeled over, allowing Joanna to try her luck again though she ended in, relatively, the same state as Dean.

Finally, Gordon turned back to Sam who, due to the heavy blow he had suffered upon smashing his head on the floor, was severely disoriented and struggling to stand. The violent tribute swung his sword vertically and though Sam avoided the potentially lethal blow, he fell onto the ground again. Things would have ended there if Garth hadn't appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He snatched the coiled barbwire from Gordon's hip and quickly used it to choke him. The sharp ends cut through both of their flesh though the damage being inflicted on Gordon was much more important.

Gordon, too surprised and dumbfound to react rationally, seemed bested. Garth held on tightly, grunting in pain as the wire cut through his hands though never letting go. And just when Gordon seemed to be done for, he clenched his sword and stabbed Garth through the stomach. Blood sputtered from his mouth as the blade was retracted and he fell to the floor. Kevin, who had been watching from the doorway, shrieked in horror and ran to his brother's side. Though Gordon was weakened by the nearly fatal attempt on his life, he was strong enough to shove Kevin aside as he desperately tried to breathe and untangle the barbwire from his throat.

However, Sam didn't give him the chance. Something akin to a rush of adrenaline motivated him to stand correctly and resume what Garth had been unable to finish. He grabbed the wire, clutching at it tightly and pulled with all his might. Gordon didn't have the time to react for, due to the force Sam had been using, it cut through his neck and would have beheaded him if he hadn't had a spine. Thus his lifeless corpse fell to the ground, followed by Sam who was utterly exhausted.

As things quieted down, three canon shots were fired and Kevin's sobs were made audible. Sam slowly shifted his gaze to the boy who wept, a hand tangled in Garth's bloodstained shirt. The sight was desolating and painful. Eventually, he crawled to Kevin's side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I-I should have done something…" Kevin hiccupped, "But I just watched…Why did I just watch…?"

Sam pulled him into a side hug, "Hey…" he cooed softly, "It's okay…it wasn't your fault…"

"Yes it was…" Kevin sobbed, "He was way weaker than me and he still tried to do what I couldn't do. I should have—it should have been me! He-he'd be alive if I…"

"Kevin…" Joanna said, her voice sounding a tad hoarse, "There's nothing you could have done."

Kevin almost wanted to argue with Joanna. He wanted to tell her she was wrong and that he could have done what Garth had failed to do without dying if he had had the backbone. But he didn't because, if anyone understood how helpless and horrible he felt, it was Joanna. She had gone through virtually the same thing with her brother and though she hadn't seen Ash die, she had been taunted with his death by his killer. And so Kevin stayed quiet, sobbing instead.

Eventually, they helped Kevin to his feet and lead him out of the building. Joanna walked with him for the rest of the day until they found a different building to set themselves in. Rather than settling on the second floor, the group moved to the fourth floor out of extra precaution. Balthazar, who had neglected to send them a gift at the beginning of the day, sent them one just as they settled in. the box contained first aid tools and medicine to bandage Sam's head and hands and prevent anyone's wounds from infecting. Gabriel had been in charge of bandaging the wounded. When he finished with Sam, his hands lingered on him for an instant as he said:

"For a moment there, I thought you would die…"

"Why didn't you help…?" Sam asked quietly regardless of the fact he already knew the answer.

Gabriel smiled bitterly, "For a moment…I didn't know what was keeping me from running to you." He admitted, "And a part of me wishes I had…but it wouldn't have changed anything because I wouldn't have fought…instead, I would have taken the blow for you."

"Don't do that." Sam said softly though it came out more as a plea, "Don't ever throw yourself to Death for me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you did…"

"And I wouldn't be able to live myself if I didn't…" Gabriel stated, his bitter smile fading, "It seems we've reached an impasse…"

"I wouldn't really call it that." Sam said, retracting his hands.

"Neither would I." Gabriel agreed, "But I have no better word for it at the moment…"

Their pointless conversation ended as such. They turned their gazes to Kevin who had stopped crying and was staring emptily at the space in front of him. He was clearly deep in thought and Joanna seemed to sympathise as she sat by him and watched him intently. Sam looked at Dean, who was talking with Castiel in an opposite corner of the room, and stared at him quietly.

A new fear began to develop and make his heart throb painfully. Kevin and Joanna were so strong. They managed to keep moving regardless of the fact that their brothers had died brutally. Sam admired them and wished he could be capable of such strength and perseverance. However, the truth was, if Dean ever died, Sam would surely kill himself.


	22. Sacrifice

Castiel was strange, to say the least. Being weird or odd wasn't necessarily a bad thing as much as it was a puzzling thing. Castiel seemed to be the one exception to everything Dean knew. As long as he had lived, he had been taught that the people of the Capitol were nothing but a bunch of posh idiots who had no concept of morality or human life. He had been taught that none of them would ever lift a finger to help the people of the districts and attempt to be at the head of some sort of revolutionary movement to change the tyrannical regime into something democratic and just. He had been taught that the people of the Capitol were incapable of sympathising or empathising with their situation merely because they viewed them as inferior or unworthy. But then Castiel had walked into his life and became his friend and Dean thought it to be increasingly difficult to continue to believe what John had taught him.

However, those were things strictly in regards to the Capitol and its people. Dean found that Castiel also exceeded different rules and things he believed to be unmalleable. For example, he never thought it possible for a man to be as beautiful as most of the women he had encountered in district 7 all the while retaining his masculine features and not being even mildly effeminate until he met Castiel. He never fathomed that, upon crossing paths with such a creature, he would find himself drawn to him in ways resembling a flurry of emotions he typically felt for women until he met Castiel. But most of all, Dean never thought he would ever encounter another human being he valued as much as he valued his baby brother until he met Castiel.

That night, as Dean and many others squatted in a small, dirty and uncomfortable room in some abandoned building in the middle of a Hunger Games arena, he sat by Castiel's side. The latter had fallen asleep on him and seemed to peaceful and comfortable. In that instant, everything was well and good. The tensions that had once bubbled amongst them had vanished immediately and Dean couldn't have been happier. He now was in an easier position to lead his friends and not have to pick sides thus dividing them into two separate camps.

Nonetheless, he was overwhelmed by the duty. To be a leader was to hold the lives of comrades and friends and be ultimately responsible for their fate. A bad decision, a mistake, or a hesitation could lead to everyone's demise and Dean, who still struggled with coming to terms with what the Hunger Games would eventually make him do, was afraid. However, as a good leader, Dean refused to display or even hint to the fear he felt. He needed to be calm, cool and collected so as to set an example for the others. And yet, Castiel somehow managed to see through that. Perhaps it had been why he had come to Dean hours ago attempting light and nonchalant conversation though failing miserably.

Dean smiled at the memory, remembering how Castiel had tried to make comedic puns that were far too elaborate to be even slightly funny. He remembered his flustered expression when he was forced to explain the joke which had only deepened his embarrassment and pulled a laugh from Dean. And then, Dean remembered the wise words Castiel had come to tell him a day or two ago: "The people you love, the friends you've made, those who you fear will be taken by Death; they don't have to disappear the way you're afraid they will. They will be physically absent, but nonetheless, extremely present in your heart. We will not become nothing, Dean, and we will always be by your side". The memory had strummed a chord in his heart, enacting pain and yet relief and happiness as well as love. In that moment, Dean wanted to kiss Castiel again as he slept – surely he would feel less embarrassed by his actions than the last time. And so he did.

Castiel didn't stir and continued to slumber and Dean smiled again, unbeknownst that a pair of golden eyes had observed the action intently. He wondered if it was strange to feel so strongly about the other when they had only met two weeks and a few days ago. He wondered if it was even more bizarre to label the feeling he felt as love. In the end, however, Dean decided he didn't care. As he had come to realise with the help of Castiel, he didn't necessarily have all the time in the world seeing as he could die in the next few hours or the very next day. Whether his emotions were wrong, conflicted or hastened were of no matter because, regardless of his grim situation, Dean wanted – deserved – to be happy and could accomplish such a feat by merely standing by Castiel's side.

* * *

The next morning arrived and most of the group found themselves forgetting how many nights they had spent in the arena. It felt like an eternity, almost as though they had always been there, but everything would be ending soon now that the game designers were forcing them into confrontations. Thus far, their tactic of finding a place to hide and waiting most of the deaths away was mostly successful albeit had place for improvement. They had lost another of their comrades and even if there had been mixed feelings in regards to Garth's usefulness, he had ultimately proved himself in the end. The rage and hate Joanna had harboured in regards to him and his brother had left immediately, Garth having redeemed himself in her eyes whereas, in Kevin, she found a comparable soul.

Kevin, on the other hand, is lost in his mind. Though his body is very much present and alive, he's clearly dead on the inside and unwilling to move on. The trauma of losing Garth in such a violent manner before his eyes seemed to have overloaded his brain and no one, not even Joanna, managed to get through to him. Eventually, they decided to leave him as such and to give him some more time mourning. He wasn't like the rest of them and wasn't able to cope so easily with the loss of a sibling.

"Alright," Dean said, "I want to go scouting for the force field again."

"Why?" Sam asked, "Didn't we move enough?"

"I don't know," Dean replied, "But that's what I want to go find out."

"Then I'll go." Sam quickly said before anyone else could steal the role.

"Okay, Jo?" Dean said, turning to her.

"Yeah?" She responded.

"You're in charge while I'm gone." He said and she nodded firmly in response.

The walk was generally quiet and quick, to the point. Though a thick mist enveloped them, the brothers felt at ease knowing the other had his back and found themselves being far more relaxed than they had ever been – during the day, that is. After an hour walk, they found the force field and judged that they could camp out an extra day at the building before moving again. The brothers had just begun walking back when two canon shots fired and startled them. There was a pause, as though they waited – or hoped – for another one to sound but nothing. Worried nonetheless, they ran back to the building to check on the others.

Joanna greeted them both with relief, "Geez," she sighed, "Those shots terrified me. I thought you were goners."

"We thought something happened here." Sam declared breathlessly.

"No," Joanna reassured, "Everything's fine."

"Good—"

"I'll say." Meg agreed, "You all seem pretty cozied up."

Dean, Sam and Joanna nearly jumped out of their skin. They darted their gazes towards the intruder, Dean attempting to pull out his colt though it was smacked out of his hand. He turned to see who had surprised him and was confronted with Alastair grinning wickedly inches from his face. Dean felt the colour drain from his face almost as violently as the punch to his gut that winded him instantly. He keeled over, barely grasping the desperate shout Sam had released as he lunged for Alastair. However, he had already grabbed Dean's colt by then and pointed it at Sam.

Sam immediately backed down, raising his arms as he understood that nothing in his position could allow him to have the upper hand. Alastair's grin widened, "How lovely." He chuckled sickeningly.

The others stood slowly, weary of what the sudden intrusion and unbalance of power would provoke. Meg moved to her brother's side, standing by him with an equally devious smirk as Alastair gestured all of them to line up against a wall with their hands on their heads. He cackled as they did as they were told.

"I knew we would find Capitol and Senior if we found the Winchesters!" Alastair exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

"You mean _I_ knew." Meg corrected, "You thought they wouldn't be dumb enough to form an alliance with them."

"And clearly I was wrong." Alastair grinned.

Pointing the canon of the colt at the ceiling as he wandered to them in a leisurely fashion. He paced to and fro, eyeing all of them uniquely and paused at Castiel. Dean's heart froze, eyes widening in horror as he anticipated what would come next.

"You know…" Alastair mused, tapping the barrel against his head, "He's not that bad."

"Not that I care if you did," Meg started, "But there are cameras everywhere and, if Ruby isn't lying, he's the presidents' brother. Just like the other one here—" she grabbed at Gabriel's hair and slammed his head against the wall, "Such wonderful hair…"

"Why would Ruby tell us the truth?" Alastair asked, Dean stirring in rage as he saw hunger appear in his eyes.

"She has no reason to," Meg said, "But I don't want to be on the presidents' bad side when we get out of this."

"Pfft." Alastair snorted, "How much do you think they actually value them when they let or _sent_ them into this deathtrap?"

"I don't know." Meg said, "I just don't want to risk it."

"Always so cautious…" Alastair sighed in defeat and raised the colt to Castiel's head, "Alright, fine. I'll just—"

Dean couldn't stop himself. He shouted and attacked Alastair to defend Castiel. He grabbed a hold of his arm, aiming the gun at the ceiling and accidentally setting it off twice – but with no casualties. Sam, on the other hand, had lunged for Meg as soon as Dean had made the first move. He shoved her away and nailed a solid punch to her mouth. The two hostile siblings, however, quickly fought back once they had overcome their surprise. Joanna quickly assisted Sam, tripping Meg just as she was about to retaliate after Sam's punch. The two then jumped her while Dean struggled with Alastair.

"Cas! Get out of here! Go!" He eventually shouted as he attempted to disarm the other tribute, "Take the others and find a place to hide—"

Alastair smashed his head against Dean's with such force, the latter fell on the ground out of extreme dizziness. Alastair, however, barely stumbled and aimed his gun at Dean, pausing rather than shooting. "Everyone stop right the fuck now!" He growled, spitting blood out of his mouth.

Sam and Joanna froze and Meg freed herself while Castiel, Gabriel and Kevin remained immobile just next to the exit. "No—" Dean tried as he attempted to get to his feet, "Run—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Alastair snarled, nailing his talon hard in his face.

Dean collapsed on the floor, blood trickling from his mouth as he laid in place, semi-conscious for a moment. "Dean—" Sam shouted though was interrupted by Meg, mimicking her brother's move.

"Stop!" Gabriel snapped, taking a step towards them, "Just…let them go!"

"And why the hell would we do that, Senior?" Meg growled, "After what they just did, they deserve to die something painful!"

"You want us, don't you?" Gabriel asked and his voice sounded surprisingly desperate as he took another step closer, "Well we're right here, aren't we? I swear my brother and I will cooperate if you just let them go—"

"No! Gabriel—" Sam tried, but Meg kicked him in the face again.

"Quiet." She hissed.

"Please." Gabriel begged. "Wouldn't you find it more amusing to deal with them out in the open or something?"

"I would…" Alastair admitted, "But seeing as how the Winchesters have taken a shining to you both and vice versa, I find that torturing you before their eyes and then killing you to be a far more appealing and amusing idea."

"Y-you cruel bastard…" Dean hissed as he tried to stand.

Alastair smirked and kicked him solidly a couple of times, breaking a rib or two in the process. Joanna noticed Meg seemed entranced in the act of violence, barely sparing she and Sam a second thought. She leaned closer to Sam, checking one last time before whispering: "Do you think you _and_ your brother can take Alastair?"

"Probably." Sam whispered back, "But Meg—"

"Don't worry…" she reassured, "I have a plan…"

"Shut up!" Meg hissed, kicking the both of them.

Just then, Dean coughed out more blood as Alastair kneeled next to him and observed the sight. He grinned, grabbing at his hair and jerking Dean's head up and closer. Dean could smell the horrid stench of blood and death from Alastair and assumed that the given moment was life's final kick in the ass. He gritted his teeth together, determined to remain strong when Alastair unexpectedly smashed his foot on his hand, breaking it. Dean unleashed a blood curling scream in which the other relished.

"You know…" Alastair said softly, "I think I have a better idea."

He roughly grabbed Dean's broken hand and forced him to stand, twisting and bending it when the former tried resisting. Shakily standing, Dean tensed upon feeling Alastair press himself against his back and put the colt in his hand. He would have attempted to turn this moment around, aiming the colt at Alastair and pulling the trigger but the pain was far too excruciating and, if it wouldn't have been for Alastair clenching his broken hand tightly, controlling the fingers' movements and guiding it over the trigger, Dean would have dropped the gun. Alastair aimed the barrel of the colt to Castiel who stood in utter shock.

"What would be worse than forcing you to watch your beloved Capitol get tortured…" he whispered sinisterly in his ear, "Would be to kill him yourself…with my guidance, of course."

Everyone in the room was concentrated on what Alastair was going to force Dean to do. Meg's pupils dilated, excited by the events meant to unfold though that never actually did because of Joanna. She looked at Sam one last time, exchanging eye contact and she smiled at him. "Take care of my mother when you go home." She whispered softly.

Sam had barely registered the words when Joanna jumped to her feet with a growl. Alastair halted, ripping the gun from Dean's hand and turning to Joanna just in time to see her grab Meg and push her out of the window along with herself. He stood there, stunned, which gave Sam the opportunity he needed to unarm Alastair. He kicked the gun from his grip though he was unable to grab a hold of it before Alastair unleashed his fury. He jumped Sam, pinning him to the ground with his body and slugging his face with rock-hard and precise blows. The force of his punches were so powerful that they cut Sam's skin and painted his face fresh with blood. However, it was soon over as Alastair fell numbly off him, nary moving a muscle as blood poured out the side of his head and formed a puddle around it.

Sam shakily sat up, struggling with the mad ringing and throbbing in his head to look over at Alastair's killer. Kevin clutched the colt in his trembling hands, breathing heavily as he assessed his actions. He eventually dropped the gun to the floor and collapsed, his skin frighteningly white. Gabriel and Castiel rushed to Sam and Dean's sides respectively and quickly looked them over. "You look horrible…" Gabriel joked, his voice trembling as he forced a laugh.

"I'm better than I look…" Sam replied, attempting to make light of everything but failing.

"Get off…" Dean grumbled, determined to stand on his own, "Jo…where's Jo?"

Joanna had fallen to her death along with Meg Masters from the fourth floor, both having cracked their heads open on the pavement bellow. When the others had gotten to them, they laid in a wide pool of their mixed blood. Meg's face was contorted with rage whereas Joanna had the faintest of smiles edging at the corner of his lips. And though Sam and Dean had never cried when any of their other comrades had passed, seeing Joanna lifeless on the concrete of the arena was too much. Three canons fired as the brothers crumbled to their knees sobbing.

"No…Jo…" Sam whispered between broken sobs.

They mourned for hours and remained by her side even as the weather turned sour and heavy drops of rain quickly soaked them. Though none of the others cried, they had felt a deep loss. They had all lost a friend and had seen an incredible person sacrifice themselves. They all felt as though there was something they could have done to prevent everything regardless that, deep down, they knew everything had been beyond their power. Eventually the Winchesters stood, they lead the others back into the building to gather their things and scavenge whatever things Alastair had been carrying before leaving. They hadn't bothered to check Meg's corpse.

They walked in the rain, aware that there were far less tributes than there had been two days ago. The hundredth Hunger Games was approaching its end and many more deaths would be suffered before the victor or victors got to return home. They found a building a block or two away from the center of the arena after having walked until sunset. This time, they made extremely sure they hadn't been followed before finding a place within the building to rest. And yet, none of them could rest.

Joanna was dead and her loss couldn't be grieved lightly. Sam and Dean had particularly depended on her. She had been one of their strongest and most valued allies. She had been by their side from the cruel moment they had been reaped and now she was gone. It seemed senseless and Sam was almost half certain she would walk through the door and join them at any given moment. However, that never happened.

Once settled in properly, Gabriel got to treating the brothers. He began with Dean seeing as he was in the worse of conditions. Alastair had broken his nose and so it was snapped back in place, Dean suffering through the pain with minimal reactions. His hand, evidently broken, was beyond Gabriel's capabilities of fixing. Nonetheless, he figured the hand needed to be generally immobile so as to permit the bones to heal properly and not crookedly. Kevin had gathered a few solid and generally straight twigs for him to use as anchors and Gabriel wrapped them tightly against Dean's hand. As for the many cuts and bruises he had gotten, not much could have been done. None of the cuts were particularly deep to require stitches but Gabriel did clean the wound and covered it with a Band-Aid so as to limit the chances of it getting infected.

Dean thanked him with a short nod as he moved away, isolating himself in a corner of the room, Castiel following quietly. Gabriel observed the two as they leaned against one another ever so lightly, silently seeking comfort from the other through nothing but gestures. He sighed and turned his attention to Sam who was in a much better condition than his brother, but wounded nonetheless.

"I told you…" Sam said as Gabriel cleaned his wounds, "I told you not to sacrifice yourself for me…"

"And I told you I couldn't live with myself if I didn't." Gabriel responded shortly.

"You have no reason to do something so selfless for me." Sam stated which caused Gabriel to pause out of irritation.

"Do you not remember why my brother and I joined the Games?" Gabriel snapped. "It wasn't to live through them, Sam! Hell, even if I changed my mind and wanted to go home alive, I still wouldn't be able to do it!"

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Because I…" Gabriel took a deep breath and lowered his voice, "Because I care about you. A lot."

"But—"

"Don't question it." Gabriel interrupted, raising his hand to demand silence from Sam, "Just believe it because it's true. I don't know why I feel this way after such a short amount of time, but I do and I've accepted it. And if you don't feel the same way, I already told you it was fine, but just let me believe there's something more to this until I die. I want to at least have this little bit of happiness."

Sam couldn't resist the blush that appeared on his face – though he hoped Gabriel would mistake it for some smudged blood or something of the like. Anyhow, a part of him had believed that Gabriel had merely been teasing him or spoken in the heat of the moment the last time he had made his confession. However, now that he had repeated himself, Sam knew there was likely something more to those words than what he had initially been ready to give.

He looked away in embarrassment and, after a quick sigh, Gabriel continued treating his wounds. "What if…" Sam finally said just as Gabriel finished, "What if…what if I wanted to be a little bit happy too…?"


	23. Foreboding

Another day had passed and all had the weighing impression that things would end soon. The only tributes remaining were Sam, Dean, Kevin, Castiel, Gabriel, Crowley, Ruby and Lilith. Seeing that now the arena was incredibly small, they would soon find themselves confronted with their three remaining opponents shortly. A plan thus needed to be made and set in stone but none had the force to do it. As it was, Sam and Dean preferred to improvise and go with the flow of things rather than think of something concrete for it permitted for easier flexibility and adaptation.

Sam and Kevin had spent a majority of the night awake, the latter keeping watch whereas the other simply struggled for a few peaceful hours of sleep. Eventually, Sam gave up on the idea and decided to join Kevin by the sole window in the room. He seemed lost in his thoughts, pondering over things and concentrating on whatever was going on in his mind rather than outside. Sam wondered if it had anything to do with Garth.

"Hey," he finally said, snapping Kevin out of his trance. "Thanks."

"For what?" Kevin asked, genuinely confused.

"Saving my life." Sam said with a soft smile, "If it wouldn't have been for you, Alastair would have probably killed me."

"It's no problem…" Kevin said bashfully, turning away, "I mean…I guess I was just returning the favour or something…"

"Well thanks anyways." Sam said again.

There was a pause as Sam sat on the floor next to Kevin. He looked around the room, his eyes resting momentarily on Gabriel who had managed to sleep before moving to Dean. It was the second night in a row he surprised his brother leaning and sleeping against Castiel so casually and intimately it almost made him uncomfortable at first. Sam also noticed they always had their fingers intertwined together. He wondered how intimate the two truly were together.

"You noticed it too, hun?" Kevin eventually said, his eyes also on Dean and Castiel. "What do you make of that?"

"I don't know." Sam admitted.

"I noticed you were also a bit like that with Gabriel." He added.

Sam blushed, "Yeah, I guess…" he mumbled sheepishly.

"I don't mean to offend," Kevin said, "But isn't it a bit wrong? As in wrong place, wrong time – I don't care about same sex relationships…"

"I guess," Sam huffed, his eyes returning to Gabriel, "But then again, there's not going to be a good place and good time."

"Won't it make it more painful?" Kevin asked.

"Make what more painful?" Sam returned the question.

"Killing them." Kevin specified and he noticed how quickly Sam went stiff. "We can't all go home. I mean, I've basically accepted that I was going to die here."

"Don't talk like that." Sam said dryly; he found he sounded a bit like his brother.

"I'm serious." Kevin said, "And I really am okay with it now. I mean, I survived for so long thanks to you and your brother, I'm really thankful and everything which is why I want the two of you to go home. But the only way that more than one tribute will return home is if they're siblings. If you and Dean go home, Gabriel and Castiel have to die."

Sam remained quiet and stared at Gabriel intently. He wondered if he could ever slit his throat but the idea repulsed him and Sam quickly realised he wouldn't have the nerve or the guts to do such a thing. "I know." Sam said. "But there's no way I'll be the one to do it."

"Then who will?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know." Sam said, "I just know it won't be me or my brother."

More time passed and the others awoke generally around the same time. They huddled closer to the window where Sam and Kevin had been talking. They were initially quiet, no one wanting to talk about much of anything. Kevin eventually sank down to their level and remained just as silent until Castiel spoke.

"Balthazar has probably sent a pod." He said. "We should go check for it."

"Where would it be?" Sam asked.

"Somewhere on the roof, most likely." Gabriel answered, "He wouldn't carelessly toss it in the streets now that the stakes are so high."

"I'll go check, then." Dean announced. "You all wait here, I'll only be a minute."

They nodded and watched as Dean left for the stairwell. After climbing a quick set, Dean found himself needing to make use of creativity since the rest of the path had been broken. He wandered on the new floor, looking for another way to access the roof when he came across a portion of the ceiling that had crumbled and allowed him passage forward. From there he was able to use the stairs again and quickly found himself on the roof.

And for a moment, Dean looked around and took a deep breathe. The sky was a dark grey, rain threatening to spill accompanied with lightning and thunder. It was also particularly windy which had almost caused the parachuted gift to fly off the edge of the building. Dean quickly made a dash for it, grabbing a hold of it just as it was about to plummet to the streets, potentially giving their position away to any nearby tribute. Once safely in his hands, he turned to make his way back down to the others when, to his horror, he noticed the force field was incredibly close to their whereabouts.

"That's impossible…" he mumbled in awe as he moved to the other end of the roof.

"Of course it's possible."

Dean pivoted towards the intruder and glared death at Crowley as his eyes rested upon him. The tribute was far more stealthy and conniving than he gave him credit for. "What do you want?" he hissed, "Is this the moment where you try to kill me or something? Are you finally planning on showing us _why_ we should have agreed to your alliance?"

"Not really, no." Crowley admitted, taking a step forward, though he immediately paused as Dean pulled out his colt and aimed it at him. "I came here to give you one last chance."

"One last chance for what?" Dean growled.

"An alliance." Crowley said, "It's not too late you know. I think we'll need each other if we hope to defeat Ruby and Lilith."

"Why the hell would I agree to that?" Dean snapped, "You tried to have Gordon and Kubrick kill my brother and the rest of our group!"

"Well, we _were_ on the same team." Crowley reminded, "Nonetheless, I did give you the opportunity to go save your brother as a sign of good faith. If I had stalled any longer, Gordon might actually have killed him."

"You know," Dean said venomously, "You'd think that that would be enough to convince me but it really only goes to show how much of a backstabber you really are. You betrayed your own team, how am I supposed to believe you won't do the same to us?"

"You can never know for sure." Crowley said, "Though I can assure you, you will severely regret refusing me again."

"Really?" Dean asked, "And what would you plan on doing to us? We have you outnumbered."

"I have to leave _some_ element of surprise." Crowley grinned.

"And what if I shot you now?" Dean asked, cocking the trigger, "It could all be over here and now."

"You could, but you won't." Crowley said nonchalantly, "I know you Dean, better than you might think. As long as I don't attack you, you won't attack me. You never throw the first punch."

"What if I've changed?" Dean said, "These Games have a quick and devastating impact in more ways than one."

"Sure, it's very possible, but I doubt it." Crowley said, "If you had changed and were ready to act first, you would have shot me by now and we would never have gotten this far in our conversation."

Dean frowned, trying to will himself to pull the trigger but failing. Crowley's grin only widened. Dean sighed in frustration, lowering his gun before gesturing the other to leave, "Go." He commanded. "I haven't changed my answer. You aren't trust worthy and that's that."

"I'm giving you one last chance." Crowley warned, "You'll find it in your best interest to—"

"Whatever you throw our way," Dean interrupted, determination flaring in his eyes, "We'll deal with it. Now go. I won't tell you again."

There was a brief moment of silence – sort of like a standoff. Crowley seemed to warn Dean silently again but the other wordlessly responded the same as he previously had. Crowley quickly abandoned and made way for the stairwell, climbing down with Dean following a few paces behind. The latter noted how quiet Crowley's steps were. Almost as though he wasn't even there, though Dean had eyes to prove himself otherwise. He escorted the intruder all the way out, watching him vanish between a couple of buildings before returning to the others.

"Where did you go?" Sam asked upon seeing his brother return, "We heard you go all the way down."

"Crowley sneaked in." Dean stated, "He wanted to make an alliance but I sent him off."

"Why didn't you kill him?" Kevin asked, "There would have been one person less to deal with."

"I don't know." Dean sighed sitting down.

He looked at the gift in his hands and opened it, revealing a large loaf of bread. It was still warm somehow and its sent was intoxicating. They had been surviving on tasteless energy bars and the bitter berries Castiel had picked up in the forest, now they finally had something tasteful that had all of their stomachs gurgling and mouths watering. Without thinking much, Dean separated to loaf in relatively equal and large portions, handing everyone a piece before devouring his own. It was as they finished up that Sam noticed the letter inside the pod and grabbed it.

"This isn't from Balthazar." Sam said after quickly reading it.

"Really?" Gabriel asked, "Then who's it from?"

"Ellen. Ash and Jo's mom." Sam said and silence quickly fell upon them all. "She says thank you."

Though the bread had been a delicious treat, it now left a bitter taste in their mouths. They had all felt like they could have done something more to protect Ash and Joanna – especially Joanna – but were rapidly reminded by their absence that they had failed. Sam and Dean exchanged looks, wordlessly wondering what they would do if they did indeed return to district 7 and what they would tell Ellen. Would she even want to see them? Would she blame them for the death of her children?

Tense silence weighed upon them as they finished their bread. Then: nothing. They merely sat in place, no one uttering a single word as they waited. There was nothing else to do. They planned to wait everything out, hope that the other tributes would get into a confrontation and kill each other off, leaving them with little else to deal with. And so they waited. Long hours passed and no sounds echoed through the ruined city, leaving them all uneasy and nervous.

"Maybe we should go find them." Kevin suggested. "Waiting will probably take forever."

"It's probably the better plan." Sam agreed, "I don't see the point in waiting anymore. It's just us and a few others, right?"

"If we go," Castiel stated, "We might find ourselves at a disadvantage."

"Though in all fairness," Gabriel concurred, "Whatever disadvantage we might encounter will probably be remedied by the fact that Dean is carrying a gun."

"Our opponents aren't to be taken lightly." Castiel schooled, "They are cunning and powerful, it's the only reason they made it this far."

They all turned to Dean, waiting for his opinion and verdict on the matter. He pondered the dilemma, weighing his options all the while taking in consideration the points made before finally concluding: "Might as well take the fight to them. The force field is basically at our door step. It's pretty clear the game designers want this thing to end very soon, might as well go along with it."

"Dean—" Castiel tried though was silenced by a simple yet swift hand gesture.

"Anyone who doesn't want to come along is free to stay behind." Dean said, "I won't force any of you in this."

"I'm going." Sam said with determination.

"So am I." Kevin chimed.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." Gabriel smirked.

Castiel was the only one who paused and seemed unsure of the idea. All eyes laid on him as he struggled to make a decision. "Fine…" he muttered almost inaudibly.

"Then let's go now." Dean said, "We might as well head to the center of the arena in plain sight. We'll be pretty far away from the buildings so people will be able to see us waiting whereas they won't be able to attack without getting close."

"Sounds good." Kevin said.

"I assume neither of you will be participating in helping?" Dean said, turning to the brothers from the Capitol.

"Bingo." Gabriel confirmed.

"Then at least stay out of harm's way." Dean said, "_Both_ of you."

They nodded and were quickly on their way. The clouds in the sky were far darker than when Dean had gone to retrieve the gift from Ash and Joanna's mother. The storm would soon start but the battle, however, started as soon as they stepped out of the building they had used as shelter. Kevin had been the first, not particularly paying attention to his surroundings when an arrow whistled through the air and lodged itself firmly in his skull. He fell to the ground lifeless, a shocked expression permanently etched on his face as a halo of blood spread around his head. The others, stunned by the sudden and unexpected death, gapped stupidly at the sight of their dead comrade before looking to the one who fired the shot.

"Crowley sends his regards." Ruby announced, drawing back her bow for another shot.


	24. Sisters

The sisters emerged from the cover of the building on the opposite side of the street. Ruby was wielding a bow, an arrow ready to shoot again if anyone dared to move an inch without her permission. Lilith, on the other hand, was twirling a small dagger in her hand aimlessly. Her innocent demeanor sickened them to the core. How was it possible for such a little girl to be so horrifying and powerful?

"Crowley sends his regards." Ruby announced with a wolfish grin.

"Crowley—" Dean repeated though interrupted himself upon remembering the promise the former had made before leaving. He cursed himself for having allowed the other to leave but swore that, if they were ever to get out of this fight, he would remedy his mistake.

"Geez, you Winchesters sure took a beating." Ruby smirked, "Especially you, Dean."

"Fuck off." He snapped.

"There is a _child_ present!" Ruby teased with a laugh, "Mind your language!"

"_Child_?" Gabriel snorted, "More like spawn of Satan."

"What did you say?" Ruby hissed, aiming the arrow at Gabriel.

"Don't hurt the Angel!" Lilith snapped at her sister, "I get to play with them first, remember?"

Her tone sent shivers down their spines. None of them were particularly interested in learning what sort of games or general ideas the little girl had in mind.

"I do see that Capitol and Senior are intact." Ruby noted, "Barely a scratch on either of them."

"Why are you protecting the Angels?" Lilith asked. "They're evil."

"They aren't!" Sam defended.

"Of course they aren't." Ruby agreed sarcastically, "They're just part of the nobility of the Capitol which has a say on what goes on in the districts! I don't know why you insist on protecting them, Sam, they're just scum."

"They aren't!" He insisted, "If you just _talked_ to them for a bit, you would know as well."

"Their words are poison!" Ruby hissed.

"Alright, enough." Dean stated with annoyance as he drew the colt from the hem of his pants.

"The gun!" Lilith exclaimed in awe, "How did you get it back!?"

"It was a gift from Balthazar." Dean answered, cocking the trigger. "Now, I'm done talking."

And as soon as he uttered those words, Ruby and Lilith made a b-line to hide back from where they had emerged, narrowly avoiding Dean's initial shots. The second they cleared the area, Dean gestured the others down the streets so as to have them head towards the center of the arena. At first, none of them understood why they were still headed for the given location though Sam quickly concluded his brother wanted to make use of the supplies ditched in the fountain of blood.

And so, Dean covered them as they made their way down the street. He made sure Ruby missed every single opportunity to shoot an arrow which, consequently, created a rather large and safe gap between them. Once at the center with no more places to hide, Dean finally ran out of bullets which annulled the advantaged they once held over the psychotic sisters. He watched them emerge from the ruins far away, shivering at the cracked grin splitting their faces.

"Sam—" Dean called.

"I know!" He quickly replied and jumped into the fountain.

Sam searched the corpses and murky water for the colt that had been tossed in it a few days earlier. Castiel and Gabriel had hastily joined him in his search though their efforts seemed to gradually be more pointless as the sisters approached again – Ruby drawing another shot. The first arrow she launched landed at Dean's feet and he wasn't exactly sure whether it was intentional or Ruby didn't have the strength to send it any further given her current distance. Nonetheless, he did back up and avoided a second arrow which, again, landed inches away from his toes.

"You're running out of time—" Dean called.

"Do you really think we'd be stupid enough to leave the colt in the fountain?" Ruby cackled.

She shot her arrow again and, that time, it would have hit Dean if he hadn't pivoted out of the way in time. "New plan!" Dean announced, "Get out of the fountain, Sam!" Sam quickly jumped to his brother's side though was separated when avoiding another shot. "Cas and Gabriel, stay out of the way and don't do anything stupid!"

They nodded and backed away a few paces, unsettled by the events meant to unfold. A part of them desperately wished they could join their friends in the battle but it would demean the message they were trying to send and reduce it to irrelevancy. Thus they were trapped as witnesses.

"We have to get Ruby to drop the bow." Sam whispered to Dean. "But the only way to do that is by getting close."

"I'll cover you." Dean declared.

He pulled out a knife from his pocket and threw it at Ruby. She dodged the blow that would have been lethal, lowering her bow and giving Sam the opportunity to closer the few meters separating them in an instant. Ruby was thus forced to drop her weapon and unsheathe the knife she had also been carrying around to even her odds with Sam. Meanwhile, Dean had lunged for Lilith, swinging his machete whereas she responded by waving around her dagger.

Dean quickly came to the conclusion that Lilith wasn't going to be as easy of an opponent as he thought. Her arms weren't muscular – typical of a girl her age – though they were firm and unbending as they intercepted and blocked some of Dean's powerful blows. She didn't flinch at closer encounters nor did she ever show any sign of weakness of desperation the few occasions Dean did have the upper hand. However, Lilith found herself dominating the duel most of the time. With her small size, she had an easier time avoiding Dean's attacks by slipping behind him swiftly or simply pivoting to the side. If it wouldn't have been for his extremely amazing reflexes, Dean would have surely been cut down soon after engaging the girl.

Sam, on the other hand, found himself in a relatively equal situation with Ruby. She matched his power to the letter and seemed to have grasp the general concept and thought process that went behind Sam's rationalization. This, in turn, made it increasingly difficult for Sam to think of a strategy to outdo and end Ruby. In regards to strength, Sam had somewhat of an upper hand though, in regards to speed, he found himself in an inferior position. They fought avidly and wildly, struggling to gain the position of power when Ruby finally managed to trip Sam. His ankle twisted in an awkward angle, impairing him, but not enough for it to be lethal just yet. However, now that Ruby had identified said part of Sam as vulnerable, most of her attacks were concentrated on it.

Though Sam was able to withstand Ruby for a while, his agility quickly began to fade as the degree of his wound took a toll on his body. He found himself with gradually more difficulty standing upright and dodging lethal blows, barely regaining his footing in time to dodge the next in a long line of chain of attacks. And then, it happened.

Ruby hooked her foot just right behind Sam's ankle and tugged. He fell onto his back, barely rolling to the side in time to avoid the blade that narrowly missed stabbing itself through his face. He barely had time to breathe in relief as another blow returned. Sam desperately tried to jump to his feet but a swiftly placed kick on his leg exposed his back to Ruby and he could almost feel the blade penetrating through his back – but the excruciating pain and the wetness of spilled blood never came. The reason to why was quickly revealed as Sam peered behind.

Gabriel had quickly slipped between he and Ruby, taking the blow deep into his stomach. He coughed out blood, spitting some of it in Ruby's face as he held on tightly to her hand, keeping her from retracting the knife. Sam—" he wheezed out painfully.

Sam didn't think twice as he jumped to his feet and stabbed his own knife through Ruby's heart. She fell limply on the ground without as much as a scream. Nonetheless, her death had distracted Lilith long enough for Dean to have a perfect opening, slicing her demonic head off in one go. Finally, the sisters had been dealt with and some form of relief could finally be achieved.

Sam caught Gabriel just as he collapsed to the ground, his fingers still clutching at the knife embedded in his body. Castiel quickly ran to their side, his hands shaking as he desperately tried to think of something to do to save his brother though nothing came to mind. Two canon shots resounded through the arena, signalling the death of Ruby and Lilith, Dean figured the one denouncing Gabriel's death wasn't too far behind. In all honesty, if they had had the tools necessary, they could have saved him, but it seemed as though it just wasn't meant to be.

"Don't worry Cas," Gabriel said, smiling a bloody smile to his brother, "It doesn't hurt as much as you'd think."

"I-I'm sorry—" he choked out, "I never should have gotten you involved—"

"You couldn't have kept me from it." Gabriel chuckled painfully, "I'm not the best of brothers but I'm good enough not to abandon my sibling…to something so horrible…"

Castiel's eyes watered, betraying the deadpan expression he normally bore. "Gabriel, I—"

"It's fine." Gabriel interrupted, patting his brother's head gently, "I already forgave you."

Castiel nodded, tears escaping his eyes and trailing down his dirty cheeks. Gabriel watched his little brother sob for a brief moment before turning his gaze to Sam who still held on to him tightly. "You going to start crying too?" he joked. Sam tried to glare at him, but the sense of dread and despair that filled him kept him from doing so. Gabriel smiled softly, "Thanks for letting me pretend until the very end…"

"Who…" Sam said with a trembling voice, "Who said I was pretending…?"

Gabriel seemed stunned by the implication though the feeling quickly washed away, "I wish you would have told me that sooner…" he sighed, "I would have kissed you…"

A choked laugh escaped from Sam's lips as tears began to drip down his cheeks as well. "You're stupid…" he said lightly and then bent down to press their lips together. The contact was soft and tender and the last thing Gabriel ever experienced.

When Sam pulled away, the other had passed away with a gentle smile curving his lips. The sight of his lifeless face tortured Sam's heart and now he wasn't particularly sure he wanted to survive the Games. What would he have gained other than dead friends and a dead lover? How could he ever be the same after having experienced such a high level of horror? The cannon sounded, echoing loudly through the nearly vacant city.

Dean was the first to stand. "Come on." He said, "There's only one bastard left to kill."


	25. Crowley

There wasn't much space left to travel. Sam, Dean and Castiel barely walked down the first block away from the center of the arena when they were stopped by the force field. It seemed that the arena had enclosed them within the very center which also meant Crowley wasn't particularly far away. Nonetheless, they scouted the perimeter, looking buildings up and down in search for him. An hour had passed before they had entered a building from which classical music played. The discovery was odd to all of them seeing as none of the electronic equipment they found in the abandoned houses and edifices were functional. However, they still climbed it and were two floors away from the top when they found the gramophone.

It was beaten and discoloured by time but still worked. The three soon discovered the reason behind its functioning was due to the twirling lever on the box's side, spinning just as quickly as the vinyl disc. The label on it had generally been washed away but fade taints of bright blue and possibly what was once red or orange were still somewhat visible. A woman sang softly and with great lament a tune in a different language that none else but Castiel understood and knew the story of.

"It's old French." He said softly.

"French?" Dean repeated.

"It's a dead language." Castiel specified, taking a step away from the gramophone, "This specific song is tied to the Second World War what with the many ancient cinematic depictions of the mentioned event."

"Do you know what she's saying?" Sam asked.

"Basically," Castiel said, "_I regret nothing._"

"And that I don't." Crowley declared. Their eyes darted towards and found him on the neighbouring building which had a matching breech with the one they were currently in. "I thought this song was fitting for my moment of triumph. I'm very fortunate to have found it in these ruins."

"You bastard!" Dean snarled, "Just wait until I get my hands on you—"

"Yes, yes," Crowley brushed off with sarcasm, "The mere thought sends shivers down my spine. I'm afraid you won't ever get to that point, pet."

"And what makes you think that!?" Dean growled.

"Oh come now," Crowley sighed, "You didn't actually believe the gramophone and song's only purpose was to display some sort of cheesy symbolism behind the final showdown, did you? It was a _lure_ and it worked brilliantly."

"If you're insinuating you laid traps," Sam said, "Well you did a bang up job seeing as we didn't trigger any of them on the way."

"Of course you didn't," Crowley said and dangled a remote with a clever grin, "Because I have the detonator right here. Honestly, Moose, I thought you were smarter than that."

"_Moose_?" Sam repeated.

"Yes." Crowley confirmed, "I find you resemble one greatly."

"Well that's great and all," Dean said, "But you can't set off the bombs in this building without getting away."

"Clever girl." Crowley grinned, "But, you see, I've already thought everything out. The explosives have been cleverly placed so as to control the detonation and limit the span of damage. In sum, the only building meant to suffer any damage is the one in which you now find yourself standing. And, in case of miscalculations, I chose a building located near many others with giant holes and crumbled walls. The only thing is that yours is particularly spaced out from the rest and so attempting to jump to safety would most likely fail and you would find yourself dead either way. I'm not an idiot, boys. It's the only reason I'm surviving this barbaric game."

And in that instant, hope vanished from the Winchesters faces. They had finally been had and so the Games would conclude itself with their deaths. The only twinkle of comfort Dean managed to find was that he would at least die gloriously in an explosions – though he still did find dying old and in a warm bed to be far more appealing. Nonetheless, in that very instant, a thing Castiel had told him a couple of days ago resurfaced and he found he truly understood the sentiment he had expressed then. He turned to look at his brother and Castiel one last time and couldn't resist the melancholic smile that stretched upon his face.

"I'm so glad," he said, eyes twinkling with unshed tears, "to have had you both in my life."

"Me too…" Sam replied with the same expression.

Castiel remained silent, seemingly stunned and shocked by watching the brothers abandon themselves to inevitability. The two had always fought, regardless of how bad the circumstances got, and never gave up. Perhaps staring Death in the face had swayed them to finally give up and embrace the promise of peace it had brought. And though Castiel had resigned himself to his fate for far longer than either had, in that very instant, he found himself incapable of mimicking the morose attitude.

Just as Crowley leapt to the next building, Castiel grabbed both of the brothers and made way for the gap. They had been told the space was too large to make it, that Death was inevitable, but they still had to try – _Castiel_ still had to try. Whichever tribute meant to return home should be one with a noble heart and good values, someone respectable that will have others reflect on the atrocities he had had to go through during his time in the arena. Crowley was not that tribute but Sam and Dean could be.

Crowley set off the explosives just in time to witness the three attempt their potentially pointless escape. However, the results of such a feat was soon lost upon him for he had partially misjudged the locations of the explosives. Half of the building imploded as it was meant to whereas the rest exploded. Luckily for Sam, Dean and Castiel, they had caught a boost from the explosion which propelled them safely enough to the next building though they were quickly shrouded by a thick cloud of dust as debris fell on them.

It took a long moment for the dust to begin clearing up. Dean had shakily gotten to his knees, sitting and resting on them for a brief moment as he tried to assess that they had indeed survived what he thought would most likely be their utter demise. Needless to say, as happy as he was to still be breathing, he was thoroughly shocked. Dean peered next to him, searching the thick cloud of filth for his brother and friend. His eyes quickly landed on the horrified sight of Sam laying motionlessly on the floor, a thick trail of blood dribbling down his forehead. A thick piece of wreckage must have knocked him out or worse…

Dean scurried to his side frantically. "Sammy!" he called out, shaking his brother. After a moment of no response, his heart sank and panic took over all of his senses, "Come on, Sam! Not like this! Not—"

A groan finally escaped his brother's mouth, setting his agitated heart at ease for a short moment. Sam's eyes soon fluttered open, taking a moment to focus and to find their way to Dean. Dean finally sighed and cracked a relieved smile, "We're…alive?" he asked, evidently confused.

"Yeah." Dean said with a breathy laugh. "I don't know, Cas—" he interrupted himself, "Cas!" he exclaimed.

By then the dust had cleared enough to reveal the state of the building around them. Rubble laid everywhere though a particularly thick pile was stacked just a meter away from Sam, beneath which Castiel laid. He seemed to be in an even worse condition than Sam – excluding the fact that half of his body was covered and probably broken by the thick weight trapping him.

"Cas!" Dean cried, rushing to his side.

"Dean…" the other responded feebly, forcing his eyes open.

"It's going to be okay, man!" he said nervously, his hands desperately hovering above the debris as though unsure where to start in freeing Castiel, "We'll get you through this—"

"No!" Castiel managed to snap, coughing out blood in the process, "Crowley! Get Crowley!"

The last thing Dean wanted to do was leave Castiel's side but the Games needed to end and if they waited too long, Crowley might just find the second upper hand he now desperately needed to survive them. He looked at Castiel and then at the neighbouring building where he saw Crowley rush towards the stairwell in a desperate attempt to escape fate. He gritted his teeth together, resolving in finally doing what he should have done long ago.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he got to his feet and sprinted after Crowley, "Take care of Cas!"

The last thing Dean saw of that moment was Sam nodding vividly as he inched his way closer to Castiel. He then focused his efforts on catching Crowley and making him pay for everything. Crowley was the reason so many of his friends had died, he had pinned some of the worse tributes on them and though he had a good cause to do such a thing, Dean couldn't forgive him. Because of him, _Castiel_ might die and the very thought had his heart throbbing so painfully, Dean almost thought the organ would severe itself out of anguish.

He caught up with Crowley just as he leapt out of the stairwell on the main floor. He had nearly gotten out of the building when Dean had tackled him to the ground, pinning him in place with his weight as he began punching his face in with all the remaining strength he could muster. Crowley was detestable, manipulative and deceitful. Dean never liked throwing the first punch though he figured attempting to kill them in a controlled explosion was relatively the same thing.

When Dean finally stopped, the other tribute's face was utterly deformed and bloody. Crowley's left eye was particularly swollen whereas the other was blinded by blood and Dean wondered if he could actually see. To his surprise though, Crowley let out a pained laugh almost in spite of him which angered Dean further though the latter no longer had the strength to pursue in his savage beating.

"I lose my life…" Crowley wheezed, "But what have _you_ lost, Dean?"

"Shut up." Dean hissed, he reached for the machete strapped around his waist and brought it down upon Crowley, ending him then and there.

A cannon sounded and Dean couldn't have been anymore relieved. It was over, everything was finally over, and he and Sam and Castiel could go home. He waited for a voice over the intercom to found and announce them as the winners of the Hundredth Hunger Games. And he waited. And he waited. And he waited some more when it finally dawned on him that the task wasn't over yet. The other tributes had repeated it quite a few times before the end: only one tribute or a pair of siblings can leave the Hunger Games alive. A pair of non-blood related individuals would have to fight to the death for the title of victor before leaving, regardless of the close bond they may or may not have created during its course.

Only one cannon had sounded marking Crowley's death which meant Castiel was still alive.

* * *

"Sam…" Castiel said frailly after hearing the cannon fire.

"What is it?" he responded in equal exhaustion.

"You need to kill me." He breathed.

"No way…" Sam refused, "We're leaving this together, remember?"

"We can't." Castiel said, "There can only be two victors provided they are blood related. Those are the rules."

"But your brothers…" Sam tried, "They're the presidents, they can make an exception—"

"My brothers probably hate me now." Castiel said, pausing to hack out more blood, "Maybe if Gabriel hadn't died…it could have been possible. They don't care about me anymore… But…look at me, Sam. I'm already dead."

"But…" Sam attempted albeit pointlessly, "Dean, he—"

"It's best if he doesn't see me like this…" Castiel said with a smile, "Call it selfish…but this needs to be done and I need _you_ to do it."

Sam eyes watered, his mind struggling to think of a way to avoid doing what Castiel asked of him. "I can't…" he said, "Dean wouldn't…Dean wouldn't want me to…he cares about you—"

"And I care about him." Castiel confirmed with a shaky smile, "And it's for that exact reason that I need to die before he sees me again. You need to do this, Sam. _Please_." He almost sounded like he was begging, "It hurts, Sam. Make it stop and let me die."

Hurried steps echoed through the stairwell and Sam knew he was running out of time. He found himself in a tricky position though soon drew the knife, deciding that Castiel's pain should be extinguished rather than delayed and amplified by Dean's presence. Nonetheless, his hand trembled violently and a part of Sam felt as though he was doing the wrong thing.

"Thank you." Castiel smiled, and a peaceful expression washed over his face. "Please…tell Dean that I—"

"_Sam_—!"

* * *

_"Ladies and gentlemen, the victors of the Hundredth Hunger Games are Sam and Dean Winchester of district 7."_


	26. End

**So this is the last chapter**

**Thank you all for reviewing**

**This story was never meant to be happy or have a happy ending so I'm glad none of you were particularly outraged by the previous chapter and will know what to expect when reading the final few words.**

**If any of you have suggestions as to what I should write next, feel free to leave them in a review. (srsly, I've never struggled so much in coming up with another story)  
**

**In any case, ENJOY.**

* * *

There was a pointless ceremony followed by many more things such as interviews and photographs to use as propaganda. Though Sam and Dean did get the opportunity to meet the presidents, they decided to pass. There was no way they could look at either of them nor pretend to be honoured to be in their presence. They were horrible men and they hated them more than anyone else in the world. Once all of the technicalities were done with, the brothers were finally permitted to return home. The train ride was lonely, long and depressing. Bobby's presence nor Azazel's painful jabs could sway the mood or drag either Winchester from their state of utter trance. Both were lost in their thoughts, reliving every waking moment of the Hundredth Hunger Games and wishing they had done so many things differently.

Dean wished he could have saved all of his friends. He wished he could have saved Benny, that he could have found Ash in time, that he could have found a way to save Garth, Joanna, Kevin and Gabriel but, most of all, he wished he could have spoken with Castiel one last time. He wished he could have done everything during their last day – or, at least, during their last few hours differently. He desperately wished he could have exchanged places with Castiel or protected him from the rubble that had crushed half of him beyond repair. He dreamt of that particular instance continuously though the part that stuck the most in his head was Sam slitting his throat.

At that moment, he had gotten to them just in time to see his brother slide the blade across Castiel's neck and draw a fountain of blood. The horror, the betrayal and the overall hurt that pulsed through his veins was immovable and a part of him would never forgive Sam. He didn't know what had happened, what conversation had been had in his absence – Sam didn't tell him – but nothing could ever justify what his little brother had done. This being said, Dean didn't regret – not even for an instant – having survived the Games with Sam. He simply wished that Castiel could have been there too.

Though his wishes fell on deaf ears just as all wishes do.

Sam, on the other hand, had stopped wishing for things long ago. When he had realized nothing but bad things happened to him and his family, he found that wishing for better was pointless and unrealistic. Nonetheless, he still regretted many events of the Hunger Games. He regretted not having killed Ruby the second he had crossed paths with her, he regretted not having been stronger or a better warrior and he regretted having stalled his feelings for Gabriel, believing it possible to adhere to the typical circumstances of blooming love when their predicament strongly suggested otherwise. He regretted not having spent more time with Gabriel and not having been able to save him.

One thing that he didn't regret, however, and it surprised Sam, was killing Castiel. His brother, Dean, of course, would never forgive him and would perhaps never understand why he had done it and that was okay. He had seen and heard of the secret kiss he had pressed upon Castiel's lips as the latter slept from Gabriel. He knew how Dean felt about Castiel just by the look in his eyes or the tone in his voice whenever they were directed to him. Dean was hopelessly in love with Castiel and Castiel was just as in love with Dean. Sam knew that Castiel had known that if he and Dean had met and spoken after Crowley's death, neither would have been able to let go and would have destroyed Dean. When Castiel told Sam to kill him, he knew he was acting both selfishly and selflessly. He wanted to die peacefully and avoid the grief of watching the man he love's expression break as he died just as much as he wanted to spare him from becoming an empty shell.

A part of Sam believed that last part had failed.

When they arrived to district 7, they were greeted with a large and silent crowd. None of them cheered or showed any sign of rejoice for the boys had returned to nothing. Their father had been killed and their mother had died long ago, though they now lived in a luxurious home it would never feel as such. And for a moment, they stood in front of them, staring at the individual faces of the people of district 7 in utter woe. They had all been watching, they had all seen what they had lost, and the realisation summoned the very last question Dean had been asked:

"I lose my life, but what have you lost, Dean?"

Friends.

Family.

Love.

Life.

_Humanity_.

The list either brothers could make could stretch for miles and still not be completed. They had lost so many things and, in the end, what they gained seemed entirely worthless and pointless.

Each member of the crowd then kissed their three fingers and raised them up high as a sign of solidarity and empathy. It took a moment for Sam and Dean to respond in the same way before they were escorted away and into their new home. There they were left to their own devices, Sam going to the second floor for a bath while Dean decided to drown himself in liquor as most tributes did upon returning home. The brothers spent a week in complete silence but nonetheless in each other's company. Neither of them could bare to be alone and so, regardless of the animosity between them, remained by the other's side.

Eventually, they began talking to one another yet again. Bobby had had an important hand in assuring such a feat. He had mentioned Ellen and the promise Sam had made to Joanna before her death. The brothers discussed it and went to meet with the woman, finding her in a horrible condition in the bar she owned. Mourning her children had taken a toll on her and, for a moment, the Winchesters thought she might yell at them and send them away out of hatred. They were surprised when she greeted them with tears and an embrace, thanking them for being good friends to Ash and Joanna and protecting them to the best of their ability. After that, Ellen moved in with them and no longer had to worry about making enough money to survive.

As time continued to pass, Sam and Dean were invited a few times to tour around the districts and inspire the newest youths to participate in the Hunger Games. Refusing hadn't been an option. It had seemed that the sacrifice Castiel and Gabriel had tried to make to demonstrate to the others just how horrible the Games were had utterly failed. They hadn't become martyrs and rather inspired mislead Capitol civilians to participate in the event for sport. Neither brother knew if it had been due to lack of empathy from the people of the Capitol or if the presidents had truly been that heartless. A new law in regards to the Hunger Games then had to be adopted so as to avoid any more casualties in the Capitol. Only members of the district could henceforth participate in the Hunger Games. Thus, the Games continued on and Sam and Dean found themselves training tributes that died in battle a few months later. This worsened Dean's drinking problem and isolated Sam all the more into his little world.

The two never regained the old vigor and nonchalance they once had before Sam's reaping. Neither smiled nor joked nor laughed at anything anymore. And Sam never found the courage to tell Dean what Castiel had asked him to tell him just before he died. He believed it would only destroy his brother further. And yet, a part of him knew that Dean already knew what Castiel had wanted him to know and so the guilt eventually washed away.


End file.
